


Stronger Together: New Champions

by ajayo, UltC



Series: Stronger Together [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angst, Blood and Injury, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I literally have been writing this for like 3 years, Like everything I write is based in this little fanfic universe lmao, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Time to show the world, Zelda is rebuilding Hyrule, idk what's gonna happen in BOTW2 but this probably isn't it, post-BOTW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 79,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26824804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajayo/pseuds/ajayo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltC/pseuds/UltC
Summary: Calamity Ganon has been sealed away and Hyrule can sleep safely once again. But the kingdom is in shambles and somebody needs to rise up to pick up the pieces. Zelda begins a journey of retribution, rebuilding the Hyrule that she called home into something greater than anybody could have ever dreamed. Link, ever the loyal knight, offers to protect her on her adventure.But as they travel, the two begin to rediscover each other, Link to the young woman whose voice is his first true memory, and Zelda to the young man who laid down his life for her 100 years ago and now.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Past Link/Mipha (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Stronger Together [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956637
Comments: 35
Kudos: 106





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! And welcome to my BIG BITCH. This fanfic is something that I've been planning with my partner, @ajayo, for like...three literal years. I've finally worked up the courage to put fingers to keyboard and post it for all of you to read. I really hope you enjoy it! I don't really have a plan for when each chapter comes out, but I can assure you that this won't sit abandoned. And of course, I'd love to hear your feedback on what you thought, since this one means a lot to me! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy!

Link wasn’t used to the quiet.

Since the fall of the Calamity Ganon, which had long been imprisoned within Hyrule Castle, the monsters, which once walked the bare roads of Hyrule, had all but disappeared. Link knew all too well that hundreds upon thousands of monsters didn’t just up and vanish after the Calamity fell. Because of this, Link knew that he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Especially now that he had a partner to travel with.

Hyrule Field was like an ocean of green and orange under the light of the setting sun with its grasses swaying back and forth with the whims of the wind. The breeze whipped through the trees, whistling as it danced over the branches and leaves. Hylian legends say that the wind was gifted to the people of Hyrule by the Goddess Farore, who gave the breath of life to all living things in this world. Fate, one of the only constants in Hyrule, was also born by Farore’s will. As Her winds passed over a campsite nestled in southeast Hyrule Field, some might say that Farore still had Her eyes on the two youths settling in for the night, both of which had been paramount in the defeat of Calamity Ganon.

Link sat by the fire, pulling shanks of pork from his bag and carefully roasting them over the hot coals. It had only been about ten days since the Calamity had been sealed away, but it had been almost a year since the boy had awoken on the Great Plateau, his head empty with the exception of a single voice in his head, pushing him to fulfill his mission. Since then he had been alone in his travels, apart from a few allies he had met on the way. And in his time alone in the wilderness, he had learned that the most important thing to do was make sure you were well fed. He carefully seasoned his meal with rock salt and a special combination of Goron Spice and Hyrule Herb. It tasted better that way.

He glanced over at his travelling partner quizzically. Zelda had been steadfast that she needed to learn to protect herself, not wanting to be a helpless damsel if, or when, the situation presented itself. She had never been a fan of blades and opted to take up the bow instead. Link watched as she pulled back once again, trying to aim her shot at the nearby tree. As expected, once she let the arrow fly, she watched as it wobbled through the air from her faulty draw. Zelda groaned.

Link began roasting a second shank for the princess, biting hungrily into his own as he did. He didn’t quite understand why the princess wanted to protect herself so badly when he was here to help her. With the Calamity defeated and his mission fulfilled, Link had not much else to do but follow the word of the Princess Zelda. After all, what was a knight without his Princess?

Link had just begun pouring a spoonful of honey over the princess’s meat when he heard her grunt in frustration once again, allowing her bow arm hang limp at her side as the arrow tumbled into the woods clumsily. That was her thirtieth try this evening, he noted. “Perhaps … that is enough for now.” Zelda spoke, mostly to herself, a whine caught in her throat.

The princess set her bow down, leaning it against the tree, and returned to camp with a smile for her trusted knight. She sat next to Link, saying nothing to him, but eyed him carefully as he silently prepared her dinner. She pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin upon them as he worked. How many fires had Link built in the time it took him to save her? How many lonely nights had he spent in the wilderness in complete silence save for his own thoughts?

She tried not to think about that.

Her trance was broken as Link turned to her with food in hand, offering her share of supper to her. “Oh! Thank you, Link.” She took it by the bone, biting carefully into the tender pork as to not make a mess. Zelda’s eyes grew wide. What immaculate flavor! Zelda couldn’t believe that Link was able to cook like this out in the wild! “Mmm! That’s incredible …” She exclaimed, digging in once again.

Link smiled, tearing off a large piece of juicy meat as he shoveled it into his mouth. He had been hunting all day to find meat as tender as this, and it was well worth the wait.

The two ate in silence, as they usually did. The air between them was … strange. Despite being somebody who Link had only known as a voice in his head, he did have a handful of particularly clear memories about the princess from one hundred years ago. As he travelled across Hyrule the visions in his head that told him what kind of person the princess was were substantial enough, but to meet her felt … surreal. She was one of the only things in this world that remained of his old life, a life that had long passed him by while he slept. Often, she didn’t seem real to him, she was an impossible dream he couldn’t believe actually happened.

Zelda, on the other hand, was wracked with guilt. The momentary joy of the liberation of Hyrule passed only a couple of days after, leaving her only with the image of her kingdom, her Hyrule, still devastated by ruin. It was no longer the thriving country that she once knew, it was only a broken shell of its former self. Zelda had sworn that she would do anything to rebuild Hyrule, brick by brick if need be, to repay for her past self’s failures. And she intended to get to it right away, her people had waited long enough!

But here she was, her body wracked with pain physically and mentally from her hundred-year-long battle with Calamity Ganon. She held back evil incarnate with her own two hands, sacrificing her physical form to keep the malice at bay, all so that her people had a fighting chance. It had taken its toll on the Hylian Princess.

 _In this state, I can’t even draw a bow, let alone rebuild a kingdom …_ She thought, her gaze drifting over to her bow, resting against the old oak she was using as practice.

“… Want some pointers?”

Zelda’s ears twitched, jumping at the voice before realizing it belonged to her companion. She turned to see Link’s gaze matching hers, eying the bow she had discarded by the edge of the clearing.

“You know … for the bow?”

Zelda was a bit taken aback, she always was when Link spoke. He was very soft-spoken against those he couldn’t fully trust, and Zelda had thought she fell into that category with the silent treatment he had given her for the past ten days. “Oh? Oh! Yes, yes I'd love some!" She replied, nodding eagerly, her smile warm and happy.

Link smirked, tossing his now-clean bone into the fire. “Well then, come over to where you were standing.” Link grunted as he rose from the ground, offering a hand to help her up.

“Now? Oh- okay.” Zelda took his hand, gritting her teeth as her exhausted legs screamed at her to sit back down.

Link pulled her up carefully before heading over to the tree, beckoning her over. She met him right back where she had stood. He waited patiently, handing over her bow. If anybody would be able to teach her it would be him. Link could fire one of these off the back of his horse like he was standing on solid ground.

“So … Your stance is lacking.” He said bluntly, but in a way that made Zelda feel he wasn’t talking down to her. "Your form is crucial, or else your arrow will never fly straight." Link explained and adjusted his feet, so they pointed 90 degrees away from the target, to demonstrate. "You do hold the arrow itself nicely, but I noticed that your fingers are a bit off on your draw. The string should rest in the last crease of your fingers. Like this-" He pulled back, the arrow sitting still in his draw, letting her see.

Zelda listened intently. It wasn't often that Link spoke, but when he did, his words were of wisdom beyond his years. Could he still be called wise beyond his years if he was well over a century of age? Oh, the formalities need not matter. Zelda took in his words eagerly, taking her bow and arrow in hand and trying to copy his stance and footing. "Okay, okay, like this?"

Link broke his stance, tilting his head to get a better look. “Hmm … almost?” He said with a grimace and circled around to stand behind her. He cleared his throat, “May I?”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

Link nodded, placing his hands on her arm, carefully positioning her as he pleased. She tried not to gasp at his touch, his fingers still an unfamiliar sensation, but he moved her gently and she complied like clay in the potter's hands as he molded her into a proper stance. He then held her waist and made sure that she was standing up straight.

“There, that’s perfect. Now … with your dominant eye-” His voice was almost a whisper as she drew her arrow fully once again before continuing. “Aim…” Zelda could see the crudely carved target in the tree just along the length of the arrow, which was steady and straight. “Fire.” She inhaled slowly and at the peak of her breath, she let the arrow fly.

In a split second the arrow screeched through the air and towards its target before burying it’s tip in the trunk a bit to the left of the center. Not a bullseye by any stretch of the imagination, but an excellent shot for a beginner.

“Ah! Yes!” Zelda exclaimed in glee, throwing her arms up and turning to look at her appointed knight, her green eyes alight in the setting sun. "Look at that!"

"Good job! That's pretty good for your first day!" He said with a smile. "Now, if you keep at that, your aim will get better with every shot. And soon, it'll be second nature."

His praise rang in her ears. It meant so much to hear that from him. "Thank you," she responded with a nod of her head, a lock of golden hair slipping from behind her ear. She had not always seen eye-to-eye with her appointed royal knight, but in the final days before the Calamity he had very much become a rock to her when nobody else could. He was a shoulder to cry on as well as somebody to affirm her, encouraging her and keeping her on the right path. Had it not been for Link, she may have never unlocked her sealing magic.

If not for Link, she may not even be here.

"It's no problem." He responded, leading them both back to the campsite. "With how things are now, we no longer have to rely on protocol from 100 years ago." He explained. "I am still the appointed knight to the princess, you.” He pointed at her as he sat. “However, I do agree that learning to defend yourself is a good idea. I've been out here for months and it can be brutal." Link admitted with a shake of his head. “Having said that, I will still dedicate myself to protecting you, Your Highness."

She took a seat on a nearby rock across the fire from him. Her eyes found his through the fire’s glow and loose embers, "I appreciate that, Link." She knew he didn’t have to. He owed her nothing and his duty was, essentially, finished.

Right now, the two Hylians were headed towards Kakariko Village to bring news to the Calamity’s end, followed by a trip to Zora’s Domain in Lanayru to tend to Vah Ruta, the Divine Beast piloted one hundred years ago by the Zora Champion, Mipha. But once that was sorted, there was still much to do, and it involved traveling to the many towns and cities and hamlets of Hyrule. There would need to be unity in restoring the land to its former glory as the Calamity had each race backed into their own corner with fear of branching out.

Link looked to the horizon as the sun began to dip behind the peak of Satori Mountain. "It's getting late. You're recovering remarkably well from one hundred years of fighting, but I still believe it would be best if you got plenty of rest." He offered with a knowing smile.

Zelda rolled her eyes with a huff, "Goddess, you sound just like my ..." Her words trailed off as she suddenly re-remembered the fate of her father, the late King of Hyrule.

King Rhoam had been tragically lost in the final battle of Castle Town all those years ago. Zelda and her father always seemed to butt heads, at least with what Link remembered. Rhoam had tasked her with endless tasks of prayer and training, while Zelda insisted on pursuing scientific alternatives. But the surprise attack from Calamity Ganon had split the daughter and father, leaving nothing but bitterness between them when they last met.

Link could see the guilt in her eyes when she remembered all that was lost. He wished that he could ease her pain. Having been through this already, his heart ached for her.

“You’re right …” Zelda’s voice was somber, complacent.

Link nodded and cast his eyes to the other side of the fire. “Cot’s prepared right over there.” He pointed across the camp towards it.

The cot he spoke off was naturally sewn together animal skins, fox perhaps, or wolf. There was only one, which made sense if he had traveled alone all this time. She ran a hand over the soft fur. “And what of you?” She asked, glancing back over at him. “When will you rest?”

Link shook his head, gripping his sword in its sheath and laying it across his lap. “Not tired yet. I’m going to stand watch for a bit longer. I’ll rest once the fire has gone out and I’m sure that we’re safe. Don’t worry about me, Your Highness.”

Always with the formalities... "Please be sure to rest." She ordered rather then asked and began to remove her blue blouse revealing the white undershirt, while Link made sure to keep his eyes on the flame out of respect. She hung the garment on a branch and sat down upon the cot. Using her fingers, she combed thru her hair un-doing the tangles of the day before settling into her cot of animal fur, pulling it over her shoulders and sighing deeply.

It smelled like him.

It only took a few minutes for Zelda’s tired mind to succumb to sleep, her heavy lids eventually closing as she felt herself begin to drift off. Link waited until he could hear her breathing steady into a deep sleep before allowing himself the same satisfaction.  
  


* * *

  
Link finally stirred from his sleep as the sun crested over the horizon, the beams of light cutting through the trees and upon his face to wake him from his slumber. He grunted, slowly sitting up as he wiped the sleep from his eyes with his knuckle. He had fallen asleep earlier than he expected, and he cursed himself for that. Usually he could keep himself awake for much longer, and often had to, but the last couple days, he found himself growing more tired whenever the princess fell asleep. He gazed over at her cot, the blanket cast off and the bed roll empty.

… Empty?

Link felt his heart skip a beat as he looked over at Zelda’s vacant bed. His mind raced. Where had she gone? It wasn’t often that she would wake up before him. In fact, since they had been reunited she hadn’t done that once. Had he overslept? No, he couldn’t have, the grass was still damp with morning dew.

Link’s pulse quickened. He hopped onto his feet and gripped his sword, strapping it to his back as quick as he could muster. Zelda’s cot wasn’t wet upon inspection, which meant that she hadn’t been gone long. This revelation was enough to let Link relax. There was a stream close by that Link had told Zelda about prior that she could use to wash up. She was most likely there. Link sighed, fishing an apple out of his bag and started towards the stream.

Link bit into his breakfast, enjoying the sweet crunchiness of the fruit. The air was crisp and chilly, and Link felt the goosebumps raising on his arms. It was a new sensation to walk through the woods like this, without a care about Calamity or ancient destiny. It was odd, but not unwelcomed.

Link reached the edge of the clearing by the river, staying in the brush to preserve the princess’s privacy. “Princess?” Link called out to her, “I’d really appreciate if you could wake me up before you leave camp in the morning.”

Link waited but heard no response.

“…Princess?” He called, louder this time.

Still no response.

Link sighed. Carefully, he parted the brush as to not startle his compromised companion …

And saw nothing.

What?

Link stepped out of the tree line, and called again, “Princess?” He stepped right up to the stream’s edge, looking up and down its length which stretched far into the forest. But no matter how far he looked, there was no sign of the princess, or that she had been here at all.

Link felt his stomach go cold, as if he swallowed a gallon of ice water. He gripped the Master Sword and pulled it from his sheath, suddenly not feeling quite as safe as before in the crisp morning air. Where was she? Where did she go? Did somebody take her? The thought was bone-chilling to him. To have gone all this way and fought this long only for a crazed criminal or a rogue Bokoblin to tear that victory away from him. Zelda was the only thing tethering him to the very world he lived in, the only thing that proved that he was once a boy who existed among the people. To lose her would not only be the final blow to a new era of prosperity in Hyrule, but the death to Link’s past entirely.

The fear spurred him on as he dashed back into the woods as he hacked away at loose branches that stood in his way. “Princess!” He cried out, his voice wavering under the wave of worst-case scenarios streaming through his subconscious. “Princess! Where are you?!” Link couldn’t hear a response, so he immediately changed tactics, stopping short and bracing himself against a nearby tree.

 _Think, you idiot …_ he berated himself, trying to calm his breathing. _What’s your problem? You’ve never gotten this worked up before. Just relax … Listen …_

His rational mind was right. Running through the woods and screaming for her wasn’t going to help anyone. He had to focus. Zelda wasn’t an idiot. She had a sense of the wilderness just as much as he did. He slowed his breathing while simultaneously trying to pick up any sounds that could point him in the right direction. A bird passing overhead, the rustling of a squirrel rustling through the trees, the running water of the stream…

Wait, no, that wasn’t the stream. That was the sound of a waterfall. It was faint, but if Zelda was anywhere, he figured, reasonably, that she would be there. If anything, it was the only nearby landmark he could think of. Link took one deep breath before running back off into the woods, sword hacking away at the brush to get to his destination in the straightest line possible.

“Princess??” He cried out again as the waterfall grew louder. He was almost there, just a bit more…

Finally, he burst from the forest, sword in hand. “Zelda!”

Link immediately regretted his lack of foresight.

Princess Zelda stood by the side of a small pond. The waterfall Link had heard emptied loudly into the reservoir, stirring mist into the air. But the compromising situation Link found himself in kept him from enjoying the true beauty of the scene.

Zelda’s hair was still damp, having just gotten out of the water. Link had burst in just as she pulled her shirt back over her head, but Link couldn’t help but notice that she was definitely not finished getting dressed. The sudden entrance of her trusted knight caused her to spin around, eyes wide with shock. “L-Link?!” She yelped, dropping down to her knees and attempting to cover herself with her hands.

Link yelped in unison, covering his eyes and ducking behind a nearby tree. “I-I-I … S-Sorry!” he cursed internally, was that all he could muster to call out to her? “I-I didn’t know where you were! I-I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

“Honestly!” Zelda scoffed loudly. “Don’t you know to at least let a girl know before you just … b-barge in on her changing!?”

“I said I was sorry!” Link yelled back to her, running his hands down his face. “Why weren’t you down by the stream?”

“It was too cold! I could barely dip a toe in without my body nearly going into shock!” She called back at him, standing up with a huff. Her blush had spread to the tips of her ears. “I-I heard a waterfall and came over here … the water is much warmer.”

Link rolled his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Well … I sincerely apologize, Princess. But if you could please get dressed, I can escort you back to camp.”

Zelda swallowed the lump in her throat, “I am!” She grabbed her pants from under the bush nearby and pulled them around her legs. Zelda took a deep breath, trying to stop her heart from beating right out of her chest. What had gotten into her? It was just Link!

He had startled her. That was all.

Zelda finished getting dressed, leaving Link to sit with his head in his hands over what a fool he had just made of himself. It was Zelda’s voice that snapped him back into reality, “Ready to go?”

He glanced up at her, thankfully fully clothed, but still avoiding her eyes. Her cheeks were still tinted pink.

Link sighed, shaking the hair from his eyes. “Yeah, I suppose.” He answered while rising to his feet. The two Hylians set back off towards camp, an awkward silence hanging between them.  
  


* * *

  
It was only after they had eaten breakfast and hitched up the horse, that Link spoke again.

“I’m uh … I’m very sorry for this morning.” Link admitted, scratching the back of his neck while he bore holes into the toes of his boots. “I jumped to conclusions, and I think I put us both in an … embarrassing situation.”

Zelda gave him a look of consolation, eyebrows knitted together in sympathy. “I suppose you did … but think nothing of it.” She spoke as she brushed the mane of Link’s steed, Truth. “With the two of us essentially living on the road like this, I imagine it will be hard to get the same privacy that we could afford in the castle. Just …” She chuckled behind her hand, “Just be a little less brazen and I’ll let you know when I leave next time. Deal?” She extended her open palm to him just as her last word was spoken.

Link nodded, clasping her hand in his. “Deal.” He answered with a firm shake.

Zelda nodded in confirmation before turning back to the mighty steed. “Now, I believe your friend is getting antsy. Shall we ride on? If my memory serves me correctly, we can get to Kakariko Village in-” Her voice hitched as she put her foot into the stirrup of Truth’s saddle, trying to push herself up into its seat. But all she could manage was a couple inches off the ground before her aching muscles began screaming at her to stop. She complied for a moment, her breath shaky as she leaned against the sturdy animal.

Link held his hands out to make sure she was staying upright. “Are you alright? Is the pain acting up again?” He asked cautiously.

“Y-Yes … just a bit …” She breathed, trying to calm her pain with deep breaths, putting mind over matter.

Zelda had been experiencing what could only be described as a torrent of pain throughout her entire body since the two destined youths had left Hyrule Castle behind. While it was fascinating to her to see the adverse effects to wielding the Goddess’s divine power, she found herself cursing under her breath every time her legs took to shake from a particularly steep incline. Link, gentleman that he was, offered to walk alongside Truth and to let Zelda ride while she recovered. This was an offer that she shot down multiple times, but after having her legs give out for the third time, she began to change her tune.

“Do you need help?” Link offered.

“I-I’m fine on my own, thank you very much.” Zelda retorted with an annoyed pout, not wanting to feel weak in front of him. She planted her foot in the stirrup once more, gripped onto the horn of the saddle, pulled- And promptly went nowhere.

Zelda groaned in annoyance and discomfort, fighting against her natural instincts to stop before she suddenly felt a hand grasp the back of her leg, supporting her from underneath.

“Relax, I’ve got you.” He reassured her. Zelda’s ears twitched at his supportive words, and, with Link supporting her weight, she felt herself mustering the strength to pull herself up and over, swinging her leg over the other side of Truth’s back. She grabbed onto the horn, allowing herself to balance as both her feet slipped into the stirrups. To say it had been quite a while since she’d sat on the back of a horse would be an understatement. She was still getting used to it.

“There you go!” Link proclaimed proudly, stepping back to admire her. “You’ll be hopping on and off that saddle before you know it.”

Zelda hated to be treated as weak … but something about his words made her feel at ease. The same words coming from anyone else would’ve forged annoyance. Perhaps it was how he looked at her in a way that she knew he did not think himself better than her. It was hard to say, but Zelda knew that a friend such as him, in such trying times, was incredibly invaluable.

“Thank you, Link.” She smiled graciously at him, the corners of her mouth drawing up and pinching her eyes closed.

Link felt his heart swell with pride under her gaze. He felt a connection to her that was truly something more than a knight would usually feel towards his princess. She was strong, confident, humble, and determined to bring back a world which Link had long thought was lost forever. She was just as much his hero as he was to her.

Link kicked dirt over their long smoked out fire, took the reins, and led them away from camp and back towards the main trail, towards their next destination.  
  


* * *

  
Link didn't need to hold his horse's reins as he walked alongside, he knew Truth wouldn't stray far from their path beyond the Dueling Peaks, especially not while the Princess sat in his saddle. It was as if his steed somehow knew the significance surrounding the girl on his back.

Truth was a ruthless animal who didn't even hesitate when Guardian beams blasted by in close proximity. He also wasn't one to take to strangers too kindly after many disguised Yiga assassins had attempted on Link's life over their time together. The horse harboured distrust to just about everyone but the Hero himself, which netted him an issue or two when it came to boarding the animal, often forking over dozens of rupees for compensation of bitten hands and assorted bruises that his horse tended to leave on the unfortunate stable hands.

So, when Truth was uncharacteristically mild towards the Princess, Link wondered if maybe the animal understood that this girl was the reason for, and ultimately the end goal of, their monumental quest.

Which, evidently, was bringing the pair up to Kakariko Village, tucked into the mountains of East Necluda. More specifically to the Sheikah Elder, who had been pointing Link in all the right directions throughout said quest.

He figured they should at least inform her of the events that unfolded. The Princess was so eager to start putting things back together that he was lucky enough to convince her to stop here first. The prospect of putting Hyrule back together again was dizzying. Where does one even begin? He was sure that even Zelda did not know the answer. But he understood well the pressure to work quickly.

Hyrule has waited 100 years, after all.

"Um, actually-" the Hylian on the horse spoke suddenly, breaking the silence and startling Link out of his train of thought

She hadn't meant to scare him, "Oh, I'm sorry I-"

"No- It's ok," he reassured her with a laugh and waving it off, " 'Still not used to traveling with someone, that's all. What is it?"

Zelda forced a small smile, her conscious heavy knowing how much time he spent like that: alone. "It's just ... Well, I'm a bit nervous, to say the least."

Her knight raised a brow and pressed, "Of?"

The Princess worried at her bottom lip, now that she was going to say it out loud the matter seemed redundant, "It's silly, honestly, I shouldn't have even-"

His waiting expression was enough to pry it from her, but not before she huffed and her bottom lip pouted in a comfortably familiar way, "Oh heavens ... you don't think anybody blames me, do they?"

Link caught his laugh in his hand, stifling it, much to her offense. "Sorry, Princess, but that couldn't be any further from the truth." He could see his words alone did little to reassure her, "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself, besides, shouldn't a Princess of Hyrule be able to talk to her people?"

He was right and she knew it, however, she didn't feel like much of a Princess of anything right now. Especially as they crossed over the rather poorly looking Kakariko Bridge, partly crumbling into the river below.

The rest of the ride was quiet as the pair were much too busy in their own heads to engage with the other. It wasn't too long after that they reached the gates leading to the entrance of the village, and waves of painful nostalgia began to wash over the princess.

An elderly Sheikah woman and her granddaughters sat by a fire just inside the gates as she told them a story of long ago. When the pair passed the elderly Sheikah, she looked up locked eyes with the girl on the horse led by the Hero. Instantly, her face changed to an expression of utter amazement.

"Baba what is it?" Their young and girlish voices asked in hushed whispers.

"... Come, girls." She took her granddaughters in each hand as she began to silently follow the pair from behind.

For whom else could it be when the Hero returns with an angelic blonde Hylian on his steed behind him? This was history in the making.

Soon enough, more of the older residents of Kakariko began to notice the pair, following the two of them down the hill. The younger generation of Sheikah accompanied them out of curiosity, having heard of the Hero's return.

Zelda steeled herself as she felt the weight of their eyes on her, tightening her hand on the horn of Truth's saddle. They had arrived at the bottom of the hill, and Link had stopped in front of a large house framed by waterfalls. She knew this house, or at least, she knew whose house this was a century ago.

Link looked up to the girl on his horse and offered his hand to her with a polite smile. Zelda hesitated, but knew she wouldn't be able to dismount gracefully on her own. He helped her slide out of the saddle, guiding her, and made sure she landed softly on the ground.

"Won't be long now," he assured her, having already seen someone go inside to fetch the Elder, before taking a step back and to the side. Truth followed where his rider went, leaving Zelda standing on her own, under the gaze of nearly every village inhabitant.

Her heart pounded, and she tried not to stare as her ears picked up on the whispers and murmurs of the small crowd. She kept her eyes focused on the door to the house, not even daring to blink, lest she miss something.

Link watched with anticipation from behind, leaning up against the trunk of a tree with his arms crossed. A young boy came to his side and looked over at the girl he was staring at.

"Who's that?"

"S'Princess." He answered simply.

Then, the door creaked open, and Zelda felt her breath catch in her throat, her hands tightening into small fists at her sides. An extremely old woman hobbled slowly out of her home, her large bamboo hat, adorned with the Sheikah insignia, tipped back so she could look onto the crowd.

"Are you sure?" Asked the man that stepped out behind her, hands out to reason with the old woman, "You don't have to- We can just send them up-"

"Great Goddesses ..." She held her hand up to silence him. "Are these old eyes playing tricks on me ... or am I truly seeing this?"

Zelda stood rigid, lips parted, caging a breath in her chest, as she watched the Elder Sheikah descend the stairs.

"Princess Zelda ..."

The girl's ears twitched in response to hearing her name on those old lips. Time had withered her voice, but Zelda had heard it plenty a time before. She felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes.

The Elder smiled warmly up at the young Hylian, the crease of her eyes nearly lost amongst the many wrinkles, as she made her way over. "In all my years, I never truly believed that I would live to see you again, dear. You haven't aged a day!"

"I-Impa?" Zelda croaked, feeling her composure shatter in front of everyone. Link had neglected to mention the Elder's name before they had set off, and Zelda was left to assume the Impa she knew was gone as well.

Impa took off her hat, moving to place it on the ground beside her, but the Sheikah man swooped in from behind to save it from the dirt. "Come here, dear. Down here. Time hasn't kind to my height, as you can see!" Impa jested lightly, seeing the crumbling princess before her.

It was surely her, there was no doubt. Zelda fell to her knees with a choked back sob and threw her arms around the elderly, frail looking, Sheikah. "Impa, I-I'm so sorry!" She wailed, her tears flowing freely down her face, "I ... I should've- This isn't how-..."

"Stop yourself this instant, young lady." She barked at her, bringing a knobby finger up to her face. Zelda blinked and quickly gathered herself, with her back straight and hands held neatly in her lap.

Link was amused by how fast Impa was able to make her do that.

"My dear, this is how everything was meant to be. Hyrule wasn't meant to end a hundred years ago. You saved us. You saved us all!" Impa's words were stern while she jabbed Zelda in the chest with her finger to punctuate.

"I only wish that it hadn't taken so long ..." The Princess sniffled, running her thumbs under her eyes to catch her tears.

Impa wrapped her arms around her in a boisterous hug. "Not another word! You can blame it all on him!" She said with a hoot of laughter, and the crowd followed her accusatory finger pointed right at Link, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I went as fast as I could," the Hero offered in a weak defense.

And suddenly they all heard a beautiful sound, a laughter that was soft, sweet, and angelic. It was Zelda's laughter, which seemed to be able to part clouds to let a little more light into the world, brightening the outlook for all who happened to catch it.

Impa invited the two inside for tea and to hear of the Calamity's vanquishing. Once situated inside, Zelda commented on how not much had changed here in Kakariko, to which Impa replied something along the lines of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Link mimicked sitting with his knees tucked under him at the low table, but ultimately found it to be too uncomfortable, and subtly shifted into a more open cross-legged position.

A paper door slid open and in came a young Sheikah woman with her head bowed, a little too low at that, a tea tray rattled in her shaking hands. Zelda gasped as she placed the tray between them on the table, she bore such a striking resemblance to Impa from a hundred years ago.

"Zelda, this is my dear granddaughter, Paya. Say something, girl." Impa introduced her, causing the girl to squeak as she was addressed.

"Goddess! She looks just like you!" The Princess exclaimed. The resemblance was uncanny.

Impa barked with laughter, "Well, she's definitely got much more sand in her hourglass than I did!"

"Grandmother!" The young Sheikah hissed, her face turning as red as the inked talisman on her forehead. She couldn't even hide her shapely figure in her loose clothing.

"Oh, hush now, girl, you know I only tease." The Elder poured out three cups of the fragrant tea for the occupants of the table.

Zelda took her cup in both hands and brought it to her nose to inhale deeply. She picked out immediately that it was a plum blossom tea, and after a small sip noticed the added ginger to offset the sweet fruity flavor of the dried plums and hummed in delightful familiarity. "I missed your tea greatly, Lady Impa."

Link took a small sip as well. He didn't enjoy tea, nor understood what was enjoyable about boiled leaf water, but he didn't want to be rude and let it go to waste.

"I can have Paya wrap some up for you to take with you afterwards, but more importantly-" Impa leaned across the table, "Would you be so kind as to indulge an old woman with the details of your heroic feat?"

Now it was Zelda who blushed, shrinking into her shoulders, "I'm not so sure I should be the one to talk about it– Link really was the one to-"

"Go ahead," Link interrupted, something he did a lot, but he never meant any offense by it. "I mean- I don't mind, honest," he insisted.

"Alright, if you insist ..."

Zelda retold the events as she saw them, explaining how, during the moment Link entered the sanctum of the castle, Ganon burst free from her control, letting loose all the hell that came with it. She praised Link's quick thinking and the remarkable amount of combat and weapon knowledge that he pulled from as he fought for not only his life, but hers, and everyone else's. They ended up in Hyrule field as the castle could not contain the sheer size of his final form.

"It was a grotesque, and malice ridden, pig-like beast, alight with fires made of pure hatred," she detailed with a shudder.

Zelda said she felt Hylia's presence and heard her guiding words to bestow the Bow of Light to Link to aid in his fight, and, ultimately, slay the beast that threatened all life as they knew it. Once Link had brought Ganon to its knees, it was only a matter of sealing it away for good.

The Hero, listening intently, felt that perhaps Zelda hadn't given herself the credit she had rightly earned. For she completely neglected to mention that she came back to the earth in a blinding, heavenly, light, or how she didn't even flinch when face to face with such a monster. He knew that even his own knees trembled in the face of Ganon, yet Zelda was steadfast and unwavering.

He really admired that.

"After the adrenaline wore off all we could do was collapse into the grass. Link said I slept for 3 whole days." The Princess admitted with a small smile. "So, it took a while to make it up here."

"That's quite alright, my dear," Impa wouldn’t be having the Princess apologize for being late. "How are you faring now?"

"Oh, I'm fine now," Zelda said into her teacup, and Link knew this to be a lie as her strength had been completely sapped from her, and she basically had to learn to walk again. "We are heading to the Domain after this."

"Oh, so soon?" The elder Sheikah woman sounded disappointed. "We would be honoured to accommodate you, Princess"

Zelda saw the look Link was giving her and she set her cup back down. "I have to humbly decline, there is too much to be done-"

"You should at least pay visit to that spinster sister of mine up in Hateno!"

She blinked in surprise, ears twitching, "Purah?"

"If you don't, I'll never hear the end of it from her!" Impa croaked in laughter and Link insisted with his eyes that Zelda take up her offer.

"And, you know, they may not even be aware of the Calamity's end out there." He added carefully.

He was right; he always was. She couldn't say no to him.

With a small sigh Zelda allowed herself a respectful defeat, clearly outnumbered, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt ... and we could reach the village before nightfall if we leave soon."

It was decided. Impa had Paya fetch a bag of tea leaves for Zelda and a couple of baked provisions for the road. The poor girl couldn't even lift her eyes from the floorboards as she handed the gifts over to the princess. Lady Impa had also offered the aid of the Sheikah people to assist in any way desired and that Zelda need only ask, and they would be there.

Link helped Zelda back onto his horse and they bid farewell to the people of Kakariko, walking his steed back out through the village gates.  
  


* * *

  
The trip up to Hateno Village was short, but the time spent in Kakariko had burned several hours of daylight. By the time they had arrived in Hateno, the sun had long dipped behind the horizon, and the village was bathed in the soft moonlight. Zelda couldn’t stop yawning, the constant travel during the day had run her ragged. She counted her blessings that she had Link there to guide the way, leading Truth by the reins as she rode astride his steed.

Zelda perked up at the first signs of civilization, oohing and aahing at the changes Hateno had gone through in the past hundred years. New buildings with unique structures peppered once clear fields, a sign that the population had definitely grown in this little nook of Hyrule. It made sense that the people would tuck themselves away in small, well-knit communities in such a time of crisis.

Link thanked Hylia that they had arrived when they did. Any earlier and everyone would want an audience with the newly freed princess. This way he could transport her safely through town and let the people know about the good news in the morning.

“Finally, it’s so good to be back in civilization again.” Zelda sighed, sitting up and stretching her back. “I suppose we’ll be staying with Purah?”

Link glanced up at the lab, sitting silent with the windows dark and the chimney unlit. “It looks like she may have gone to sleep already. We did take our time getting here after all.”

Zelda pouted. “Drat. Still, I’m pleasantly surprised that Purah is still around. She was an invaluable asset to my research. I look forward to seeing her again.”

Link chuckled. “Yeah…but I think you’ll be surprised when you see how much she’s changed in a hundred years.”

“Age wouldn’t slow Purah down. I’m sure she’s as spry as ever.” Zelda proclaimed as the two silently proceeded through the quiet village. “So, if not with her, I suppose we’ll get a room at the inn?”

Link waved her off. “No, don’t worry about that. We’ll just stay at my house, no point wasting the rupees.”

“Oh, that sounds good.” She spoke. Only a moment passed before it clicked, her head snapping back in his direction. “Wait … you have a house?” How long had she been asleep for?

“Hmm? Oh! Yeah, I purchased a house here a few months back. The construction company was planning on tearing it down, but it seemed like such a waste. I’d picked up quite a small fortune from travelling and decided to buy it, so I’d have a place to stay in the east. And it’s nice to have a place to put your stuff, y’know?” Link explained, hanging a right up the hill towards the house.

Zelda nodded. “I suppose you’re right. And that’s more than I have right now, so you’re doing pretty good for yourself!” She said with a giggle, bringing a knuckle to her chin inquisitively. “A construction company, huh … I wonder if they’d be willing to take a side job.” She murmured to herself, deep in thought.

It wasn’t long before the two reached the bridge connecting Link’s house to the rest of the village. The house didn’t seem to match the new, vibrantly coloured structures that had been built in the last few years. No, the outside walls were clay and appeared to be rough and unpleasant to the touch, but it gave off a homely aura and Zelda felt her anxious mind start to relax as they approached.

Link hitched up Truth to the post, letting him rest in the crude stable next to the house. He took Zelda’s hand, slowly helping her off his back until her feet once again met terra firma. “So, what do you think?” He asked as he pulled handfuls of hay out of the nearby bale, placing it before the horse to keep him satisfied through the night.

“It’s lovely.” She answered, taking a few wobbly steps towards the front of the house. She had spent all her life in the impossibly tall spires of Hyrule Castle, but the concept of such humble living quarters always made her feel so safe. “It’s very … cozy.” She added, taking a minute to choose the best word to describe it.

“High praise from the Hyrulean Princess. I’ll take it!” Link joked, giving Truth a few pets as he pulled their bags off his saddle, slinging them over his shoulder with ease. “Shall we go inside?”

“Oh yes, please.” Zelda replied politely, allowing him to lead the way.

Link pushed through the door to the house. The house was open, no wall obstructing you from seeing every inch of the house as soon as you walked into the dim light of oil lanterns. A large rug was stretched under an oak table in the center of the room, and she also spied a basic oven and stove for meal preparation. The only thing Zelda couldn’t see was what was upstairs, a single short flight just to the right of the entrance. “Home sweet home, I guess.” Link said, carrying the bags towards the stairs. “Down here is the kitchen and dining room, and up here’s the bedroom.” He explained, beckoning her to follow him as he ascended the stairs. Zelda obliged, climbing the stairs and ignoring the pain in her body that flared up with each step.

Upstairs wasn’t much of a room as it was an overlook with no wall separating it from the rest of the house. Zelda walked up to the railing and looked back down at the dining area. Everything was in sight, everything that was needed to live a happy life was here. Zelda wondered for a moment what life would have been like for her if this is how she grew up. A small house, a simple life … what then? She turned and looked back at Link as he placed the bags on the mattress and couldn’t help but feel a longing for something that had passed her by long ago. Something that she missed and wasn’t sure she could ever get back.

Link sighed, sitting down on the bed, hearing its springs squeak under his weight. “Yeah, it’s not exactly Gerudo silk sheets and Rito down quilts, but- “

“It’s perfect.” Zelda interrupted with a smile. “Thank you, Link. I never would have made it all the way here without you. I’m truly grateful.” She thanked with a small bow.

Link raised an eyebrow at her, offput by the strange show of politeness. Of course he would have brought her this far, the opposite idea never crossed his mind once before this moment. Zelda had given him purpose in this strange new world, and it was the least he could do to lead her on her quest as well. Not wanting to pry, he spoke simply, “Of course, Princess.” A deep understanding resonated in his words.

The two shared another moment of silence before Link clapped his hands together. “Ah! I should go get some blankets.” He hopped off the bed, gesturing for her to relax. “Go on, take a seat and I’ll be right back.” Zelda sat, hearing the old wood creaking as she did.

Link descended the stairs, heading for the small linen closet underneath the bedroom. “It’s actually quite comfortable once you get used to it, you know.” He spoke aloud so she could hear him from below. “The bed came with the house though, so I can’t really complain.” He opened the closet, pulling two blankets and few extra pillows from the shelves, closing the door with his foot before making his way back up. “I could probably change the sheets too. I changed them when I was last here, but it’s been a while since then ... Would you like that?” Link offered as he climbed the stairs once again but got no response. “Princess?” He called out again before cresting the final step.

He turned and saw the princess, curled up in the middle of the mattress and sound asleep. He smiled softly, silently setting the pillows on the bed as not to wake her. He then unfurled the wooly blanket, a gift from Saki of the Rito Village, and draped the material over the sleeping princess, being sure that nothing was sticking out when he did. As soon as he finished, Zelda’s sleeping form grasped the corner of the blanket, bringing it up and under her chin as she sighed contently.

Link watched her for just a few moments, listening to the sound of her breathing, long and deliberate, her chest rising and falling with it. Link was reminded of a placid lake, calm and serene under the light of a full moon.

She was beautiful even when she slept, too.

Wait- What?

That was … not befitting for a knight of his caliber.

Link shook it off, standing and reaching up to dim the light of the lantern hanging above the bed. Link threw one of the pillows to the floor next to the wall, taking a seat and propping himself up. He slept better here anyway, often the plush comforts of a real bed tempted him to sleep in much later then he would like.

Link unstrapped the Master Sword from his back, laying it in its sheath with the tip resting on the hardwood floor. He let the ornate hilt rest on his shoulder while he gripped the sheath with his hand, always ready. It wasn’t long before the whisperings of the sword’s spirit settled into the back of his mind. That in combination with the soft breathing of the Princess of Hyrule safe and sound in his bed began to lull him off to sleep, the room getting hazier and hazier until he too welcomed the embrace of slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for everyone who gave kudos on chapter one! I'm really excited to keep putting out chapters as frequently as possible. :)

Link’s knuckles rapped against the door another four times, sighing impatiently. “Come on, Purah! It’s me!” He called upwards to the open window he knew was in her bedroom.

Zelda placed a hand on his shoulder, tugging downward on the hood Link had leant her to keep her face hidden for the time being. “Link, come now. She’s even older than Impa.” She scolded, “I seem to remember you having some form of respect for your elders back in the day. I’m sure she’s still sleeping.”

Rolling his eyes, Link raised his hand up to knock again, but he was silenced by the sound of multiple bolts and locks sliding and clicking into place. The door cracked open just enough to let an older Sheikah gentleman with a sharp beard and glasses poke his head out.

“Oh, Link. I figured it was you." The man relaxed a bit, allowing himself to step more into the doorframe, but still not permitting entry. "Miss Purah is actually sleeping right now. Do you think you could come back later in the afternoon? She’s– uh … a tad grumpy this morning.” He explained with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry Symin, but this is a really urgent matter. Could you please wake her up?” Link pleaded.

Symin opened his mouth to protest, not wanting to incur his scientific partner’s morning wrath, but the figure that accompanied Link suddenly caught his eye. “Say, Link … who’s that with you?”

Zelda smiled, pulling the hood down around her shoulders for the man to see. “Hello! I’m Zelda.” She proclaimed matter-of-factly. “I believe that Purah may remember me?”

The gears in Symin’s head were slow to turn, but soon everything clicked into place. He shot a wide-eyed expression Link’s way, which he responded to with a simple knowing nod.

“Come in.” He spoke curtly, opening the door for the two of them to step in. He had not even given them a moment to enter before dashing to, and ascending, the stairs. “Miss Purah?! Miss Purah, wake up!” They could hear him calling out to her.

Zelda entered the lab, gazing all around with curious eyes at the plethora of Guardian tech littering the counters and tables of the room. “Oh my goodness … Is that a Guardian eye stalk?” Zelda hurried to the table, picking up the hefty metal gadget in her hands. “I’ve never seen one in person, at least not intact. The weak point of the Guardians was always their eyes, so most scrap guardians had this part destroyed. How ever did she find this?” She mused, turning the piece over in her hands, its blue eye gleaming as she held it up to the morning light.

“After a hundred years of searching, that’s how!” An annoyed voice rang out behind her, loud enough to cause the Hylian Princess to jump, fumbling with the fragile part before catching it in the air. Zelda spun around and was met with a … confusing sight.

On the stairs leading up to Purah’s bedroom was a young girl, a child, probably only six or seven years old. Her head was round– juvenile, white hair disheveled from sleep, her red eyes squinting at the scene before her. She scowled at the two of them, obviously not happy to have been woken at the early hour of…

Purah checked her watch.

… A quarter past nine.

The girl slowly descended the stairs, taking one step at a time. This was partly because of her height, and partly because she had left her glasses on her worktable – her sight was abysmal without them! Her assistant, Symin, had brought her up as she slept and left them behind! What a dunce. And now Link had brought some outsider into her laboratory? This could jeopardize her whole operation! Purah approached the blurry figure that she recognized as “Mr. Hero” and jabbed him with an accusatory finger. “I told you. _Nobody_ _but you_ in the lab.” She spoke firmly before carefully approaching the workbench, trying her best not to trip over stray scrap as she did.

Zelda was … lost, to say the least. Was the girl before her Purah’s granddaughter? She had never taken Purah to be the maternal type, but she figured that one hundred years would give someone ample time to change their mind. She watched the girl approach the worktable behind her, feeling around as if she couldn’t see properly. Zelda glanced back at the table and saw a pair of circular red glasses sitting among the papers and tools. She picked them up, kneeling to hand them to the mystery child. “Here you are. Is this what you’re looking for?”

The child immediately noticed her glasses before her and snatched them out of the strange woman’s hand, grumbling under her breath. “How many times did I tell him that this was a _secret_ operation?” She muttered as she placed the glasses on her face, blinking her surroundings back into focus once more.

“Ah, perfect. Now, you! Who are–” The small Sheikah had turned the scold the stranger who had so rudely entered her lab and so CRUDELY manhandled her things, but found herself rooted to the spot at what she saw.

“P-Princess?” She whispered in disbelief, lifting her frames up and down as if it were some trick of the eye.

Zelda returned an equally confused look to the girl. “…I’m … I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met?”

Purah’s jaw dropped. She didn’t even recognize her! “It’s me!”

Zelda’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s Purah, silly!” She hopped for emphasis. “I may look different, but it’s all me!”

“Purah?!” Zelda exclaimed, bewildered. There was no way! “Goddess above, what have you done to yourself?”

Purah giggled and scratched the back of her head, hair still tangled from sleep. “I uh– may have found a way to reverse the aging process with rune technology. I wouldn’t recommend it right now! It … backfired on me– But don’t fret!” She snapped her fingers to punctuate her words. “I’m still working on it … slowly but surely.” She added.

A smile began to curl up on Zelda’s face, a hand covering her mouth as her laughter began to spill out from within. It really was her. Only Purah could manage to execute extreme age reversal, and on herself no less! “Always something new with you, isn’t there? You haven’t changed a bit!” Zelda proclaimed, her smile pinching her green eyes shut.

Purah lunged forward, hugging onto her with exuberance. “Oh Princess, it’s so awesome to have you back!” She backed off suddenly, staring up at Zelda as she stood back up. “So, wait– since you’re here–does that mean that he … you know?” Her head tilted back in the direction of Link.

Zelda returned her glance and nodded. “Yes … he did.” She replied, confirming Purah’s suspicions. “Calamity Ganon is no more.”

Purah’s eyes grew wide, and Zelda saw her dancing from foot to foot, her heels clicking against the floor over and over as she tried to contain her excitement. “That’s … that’s …” Purah seemed like she was going to pop right there in the middle of the lab, until suddenly she stopped, clapping her palms against her face, attempting to recompose herself. “C’mon, get a hold of yourself old girl!” She muttered to herself. “Okay … Oh man, okay. I’ve been planning for so long. B-By all means, take a look at whatever you want, Princess.” She gestured wildly to the wide array of Guardian parts scattered around the room. “I’m going to go make myself decent and gather my things.”

She turned on her heel, heading back towards the stairs, but before she did, she strode over to Link and gave him a swift kick in the shin. The stoic knight yelped aloud, grabbing his leg while jumping up and down on the other. “That’s for keeping me in the dark! Dumb Linky.” Purah leered at him with a huff before heading back up the stairs towards her room.

Link grimaced as he rubbed his shin before glancing over at Zelda. “See? Same as she always was…” He joked before sucking in air through his teeth. Those tiny heels were instruments of pain.

* * *

Purah dropped a large stack of documents on the table before Zelda, and beckoned Symin over with a finger. She had clearly been planning this day for a very long time, possibly ever since the fall of Fort Hateno. “Okay! I’ve got everything laid out right here, Princess.”

Zelda examined the stacks carefully, flipping through the pages with her finger. “You’ve certainly busied yourself over the past hundred years, haven’t you Purah?”

Purah nodded. “You betcha! I’ve been hard at work since you went off to bump heads with Ganon. And over time, I’ve been formulating what I have so sufficiently dubbed…” Purah hopped on her stool and struck a pose. “The LRHKEBTEB Operation!” When she got no immediate response from the destined youths, she cleared her throat, “The Let’s-Rebuild-Hyrule-Kingdom-Even-Better-Than-Ever-Before Operation!”

Her assistant smiled sheepishly behind her, “Or just– y’know– the Rebuilding Hyrule Operation.”

Purah pouted and turned to shoot him a nasty look. “Why don’t you go get us some coffee, colleague?” She spat back at him.

Symin held up his hands in surrender to her testy morning mood and returned to the kitchen, where Link happened to be preparing the four of them some breakfast.

Zelda snickered as they argued. “So, what’s the plan? I must confess, I am drawing a bit of a blank on where to start in rebuilding a whole kingdom.” Zelda admitted, rifling absent-mindedly through the multitude of Purah’s notes.

Purah chuckled. “Well–I’m sure you know this– but I’m not exactly qualified to give you advice on how to build a thriving government. I’m sure you’re up for that.”

Zelda nodded, afraid to admit to her friend that she was very much building Vah Medoh as it flies.

“No, what I’m here to help you with is what I know best. It’s the thing that everyone is the most scared of, and it’s the thing that needs to be taken care of _first_ so that the people of Hyrule can start living their lives freely again.” Purah reached across the table and grabbed the eye stalk that Zelda had examined earlier.

Zelda felt like the peaks of the Hebra mountains had taken residence in the bottom of her stomach. “The Guardians,” she echoed; the words felt like poison on her lips.

“The Guardians!” Purah parroted with a nod.

The Guardians were once an object of obsession to the Hyrulean princess, to the point that she could recall countless arguments with her father, pleading him to allow her more time and resources to research the mechanical beings and how they worked. However, he never gave in. All that King Rhoam cared of the Guardians was their benefit to the mighty Hyrulean Army and keeping soldiers off the battlefield as a better, automated alternative to the defense against the impending evil.

That was, however, until Calamity Ganon turned the Guardians against them. Zelda still remembered how she and Link were terrorized by the mechanized monsters, their beams trained on them, legs skittering towards them at impossible speeds. In a matter of minutes Zelda’s outlook on the Guardians shifted to that of waking nightmares. Any benevolent purpose they may have been created for was completely overshadowed by the deaths of her people, of her father, of…

Perhaps if she had been more focused on her training, her sealing powers would have awakened, and the Calamity would have been defeated before it could take over the Guardians.

Or perhaps if her father had given her the freedom to investigate the Guardians and how they worked, she might have been able to stop the Calamity from taking over the automaton servants of the ancients. She could have given Hyrule a fighting chance in the inevitable fight against Ganon. Perhaps she would have been able to save the champions, her dear friends that protected her until their untimely death. Perhaps she would have been able to save her father and show him how proud she could make him.

Perhaps she would have been able to save–

Zelda’s mind was bumped out of her trance by the sound of a plate being placed before her. She looked up and saw him, Link, the young man that had drawn what he believed to be his last breath at the hands of these things– these Guardians. He noticed her pale face and his brow furrowed in concern, “Hey, you okay?”

“Oh! Y-Yes, sorry.” Zelda swallowed, finishing the breath she had taken a minute ago. “I’m just … tired from the road.”

Link relaxed and smiled. “Well, why don’t you eat? It’s good to keep your strength up.” He gestured to the plate before her, decorated with seared ham and sausage, buttered toast with honey drizzled on top, and a poached Cucco egg to top it all off.

Zelda’s tortured mind soon began to quiet down, the breakfast before her unlike anything she had eaten in the past few days on the road. “Oh my, Link! Did you make this?” She asked in disbelief.

Link nodded with a laugh. “Well, it certainly helps if you have a fully stocked kitchen as opposed to whatever I can find in the wild.” He joked with a light chuckle. “Anyway, enjoy your breakfast.” He said, heading back towards the kitchen.

Purah spun around in her stool, her eyes following him. “Hey! What about me?! There’s no way you’re using my kitchen and not giving me anything!” She called out to him.

“Calm down you crazy crone, the princess gets the first plate. I’ll get to you!” He yelled back to her. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled!” Purah cried out, turning back to find a specific document.

Zelda could feel her mind beginning to calm, the visions of Guardians in the rain fading as she bit into Link’s breakfast sausage. She hummed happily before setting her fork down, turning her attention back to business. “So … what’s the plan? For the Guardians, I mean.”

“Well–” Purah started, grabbing the last thing she needed from the small Dueling Peaks she had built out of research documents on the table. “My original idea was the easiest. Restoration of function to any remaining and intact Guardians.” She passed Zelda the necessary papers as she spoke. “Pretty easy-peasy if you ask me. Once we have the hands for it, we send out a search team to look for any remaining Guardians that still work– this would be any that still have intact cores. Those are the be-all and end-all of the Guardians, and once they’re removed, there’s no putting ‘em back. No putting them in others either.”

“If we managed that, we could get them working again as your father originally intended.” Purah finished, sitting back in her stool.

Zelda’s brow furrowed at those words. “But … that’s what happened last time, isn’t it?”

Purah rolled her eyes. “I mean … yeeeeah, but it’ll be different this time!” Purah explained, “You’ve got me, and I know what needs to be done to protect them from any sort of takeover. It’ll be perfectly safe.”

Zelda looked over the plans that Purah had handed her. The new power core shields she planned to install were definitely impressive, but Zelda also knew that 10,000 years ago, the ancient precursors to the Hylian people may have thought the exact same thing.

“Purah … I’m sorry, but I can’t in good conscience allow anybody to bring these things back. Not the way they are now.” Zelda explained, setting the plans back down and sliding them back over to her. “I know that you’ve been working so hard over the last hundred years, but the Guardians are no longer a protection to the people of Hyrule. They’re an oppressor, and the fear of them is only holding my people down. The Guardians … as interesting and powerful an ally as they would be … they need to disappear.”

Purah could see in her eyes that she was serious. She let out a loud sigh, like that of a child having been told they couldn’t play in the mud. “I guess you’re right. If the Guardians could be taken over by Calamity Ganon once … who knows if it could happen again, even WITH precautions?” Purah rested her head on the table, her finger tracing slow circles on the papers.

Zelda could sympathize. To have one hundred years of work be for nothing must’ve been heartbreaking. “Purah, I’m so sorry–”

Suddenly, Purah popped up from the table. “Sorry!? Nonononono, my dear princess, as I said, Purah is prepared for anything! Even her preparedness comes prepared!” She proclaimed, sifting through her stacks once again. “Take … a look … at … these babies!”

As she vocalized, Zelda was slid sketch after sketch of strange, foreign devices that she had never seen before. Each was in Purah’s distinct style. Zelda turned one of the blueprints over in her hands, trying to get a feel for what she was even looking at. “Purah … I’m sorry, could you explain this to me?” She asked sheepishly, flashing the sheet to the pint-sized professor.

Purah chuckled, readjusting her glasses. “Well, Your Highness, what you’re looking at right now is an artificial lantern.”

Zelda gave her a confused, but intrigued, look, although Purah was off again before she could even speak.

“I’ve been collecting a lot of scrap, as you can see.” She gestured to the mess around them, “And with this junk, I’ve been slowly attempting to repurpose the energy and technology that made up the Guardians and turn it into things that can be used to help grow the kingdom.”

Zelda didn’t appear to be quite on board yet and Purah sighed. “Perhaps I should demonstrate.” She said with a huff, hopping off her stool and skipping into the other room. She wasn’t gone long before she reentered, holding what appeared to be a modified Guardian eye.

“That looks like the device in this blueprint …” Zelda pointed out, looking at her and then back at the blueprints.

Purah strutted over to the workbench, her glass bulb in hand. She grabbed what appeared to be a paperweight with a rudimentary socket on it. Zelda also noted that it was hooked up to one of those power cores that Purah had mentioned.

“Check this out.” She commanded with a grin, carefully placing the blub upon the pedestal and applying more and more pressure until …

It popped into place and the bulb lit up, casting the blue light of the Guardian eye all around the room. Even in the morning light, Zelda found herself squinting to observe the bright light that emanated from the artificial lantern. “Purah, how did you make this?”

“Well, it’s quite simple.” She started, pulling the bulb from the pedestal which snuffed out the light. “All the Guardians use these power cores, but their life essentially ends once the core is either removed or destroyed. But if the core is still intact, the remaining energy inside of it is still there, and can be used if channeled correctly. If we use them as a power source, I feel that we could make impressive strides forward in terms of technology, ushering in a new age of science!” Purah cheered, snapping her fingers triumphantly. “THAT is my Plan B, Princess. To use weapons that had once held down the people of Hyrule and to remake them into devices that will promise the people that we will be moving a towards a bright, safe and reliable future!” Purah struck a pose dramatically, overcome by the emotion in her speech.

“With that?” Zelda questioned, nodding towards the illuminated bulb.

She cleared her throat and readjusted her glasses, “Well, that’s just the tip of the iceberg Zeldy. As you said before, I’ve been _very_ busy.” She added with a laugh.

Zelda was truly speechless. She had never thought that the ancient technology that made up the Guardians could be so versatile. If it could do something like this, the sky was truly the limit. “Purah, this is incredible. You’re truly a master of your craft and a credit to scientists everywhere.”

Purah scoffed playfully, her face turning red as the princess praised her. “Awwww, Princess stop it! You make me bluuuush!” She cooed, grinding the toe of her shoe into the floor in faux bashfulness.

“And this is something that you would be able to provide kingdom-wide?” Zelda probed, taking the bulb into her hands and turning it over.

“Not by myself, silly. I’d need some help from my colleague up in Akkala.”

“Your colleague?” Zelda asked, setting the bulb back into its plug and watching it burst to life once again. It emitted a low hum, barely audible to even her own ears. “And who might that be?”

“Robbie, of course. That old coot is still kicking around, though he doesn’t look nearly as lovely as Purah!” She laughed, cupping her face in her hands.

“Robbie! Oh, it will be good to see him as well.” Zelda exclaimed with a clap of her hands.

Purah skipped back over to the table, drawing Zelda back to it with her. “If we’re going to get this started, then I’d like to leave as soon as possible. By the end of the day at the very least.”

Zelda nodded, sitting back down before her breakfast. “I agree. Link and I can’t stay long either. We have some brief business to attend to in the village, but then we’re off to see Vah Ruta.” She explained, “There’s much to do, so I’m happy to get there soon. If we’re quick, we could make it by tomorrow morning.”

“I dunno about that, Princess.” Link piped up as he left the kitchen, two plates of similarly prepared meals in his hands. Purah made grabby hands at him until he handed her plate to her with a roll of his eyes.

Zelda raised an eyebrow at him quizzically. “And whyever not? We used to make great time from Hateno to the Domain back in the day.”

Link’s lips pulled into a tight smile as he joined them at the table. “Well, I don’t really remember the route we took before. But I am well aware that travelling along the mountain trail really isn’t a viable option right now. The peaks are biting cold, the path is steep, and when it comes to making it around the Lanayru Bay, there isn’t a bridge there anymore. We’d have to go around. I think the best option we have is to follow the path back to Kakariko. We can stock back up there and head out the north gate through the Lanayru Wetlands. Once we get through, it’s a straight shot to the domain.” He explained, shoveling a healthy heaping of ham and eggs into his mouth.

Zelda shook her head. “No, no that’s out of the question.” She argued, “That would take us days to reach the Domain. Why would we have come here first if not for a better, direct path to the Domain?”

Purah frowned at the Princess, mouth filled with toast and scrambled eggs.

“… Other than meeting with our good friend Purah?” Zelda added. It seemed to appease the tiny technician, and she returned to her meal.

“Princess, with all due respect, these things take time. I’m sure that Vah Ruta is fine, and the issue can’t be terribly urgent.” Link attempted to sate her worries but knew that she was going to put up a fight. “And to be fair, you’re still recovering from your battle with Calamity Ganon. And you’ve been riding the horse all the way here. Truth is not going to go up the Mount Lanayru path. I have no way of knowing if your body is up for the hike up the mountain, Princess. What if you collapsed?”

Zelda’s ears dropped as he brought up her condition in front of Purah, but she knew Link had a point. Her pain had not yet subsided, and it was hard to tell if it had gotten any better since she hadn’t travelled on foot in so long. Still, the idea of backtracking when they had come so far just didn’t sit right with her. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Link.” She insisted, “How about this? I’ll know my limits once we reach the mountain. If I’m not able to make it, I’ll be honest and let you know. Then we can head back to Kakariko and try your way.”

“Princess, I-” Link began.

“Link, I think I know my own body and I know what I’m able to do.” Zelda spoke from her chest, her voice commanding and authoritative.

Purah snickered behind her hand as Link’s back went straight like a board. “Ooooooh you’re in trooooouble.” She teased.

“Shut up, short stack.” He shot back at her before turning back to face Zelda. “Very well, Princess. We’ll take the Mount Lanayru path. Just know that I’m not gonna carry you.” He implied, pointing his fork at her.

Zelda nodded. “Understood.” She confirmed.

* * *

For Link, rest of the day was spent in preparation for the trip up the mountain. Link, knowing how dangerous the trail would be, set to work procuring supplies from the general store: warm clothes, climbing hooks, harnesses, the works.

Zelda, on the other hand, had other business to attend to in Hateno Village. Namely speaking with the head of the village.

He introduced himself as Reede, and he led the princess through the settlement at a leisurely pace.

“Hateno Village barely survived the Great Calamity. The village was later rebuilt by Hylian hands. Now many people live here in peace amongst the shops. It's nice to see travelers stop by now and then as well,” He carried on.

“Remarkable,” Zelda commented, “You’ve done well to get this far.”

“Yes... We're finally feeling a bit of recovery from the Great Calamity. Our village is pleasant, peaceful, and has plenty of food to go around! Please stay as long as you'd like.” He offered.

Zelda had taken the rest of the day to let the people of Hateno Village know about the fall of the Calamity Ganon. Zelda had found herself in a bit of a situation, now finding herself the guest of honour in their own little homely welcome back party. The people had prepared food and drink, and everyone was dying to speak with the returned Hyrulean princess. She attempted to give everyone a respectful amount of her attention, but found herself rather socially overwhelmed.

She managed to find a moment to herself and allowed herself a moment to sit, sighing with relief. She loved her people with all her heart, but her socialite prowess hadn’t quite returned to her.

“Ohhh Princess!”

Zelda hid her slight displeasure under a cordial smile as she turned to see a man before her, balding and older, but brimming with social energy, ready to zap her of all she had left. He had long arms and was skinny as can be. He walked with a swagger that oozed confidence, drowning out any and all disapproval of such disposition. “Princess, it is such a delight to meet you! You may call me Bolson, Head Foreman of the Bolson Construction Company.” He extended his hand to shake. “I am truly, truly honoured to meet such a powerful young woman.”

Zelda seemed to rejuvenate upon recognizing the name, returning the handshake gratefully. “Ah, Link has told me about you and your company!”

“Has he now?” Bolson brought a hand up to his cheek, “Oh, such a good boy you have there. You hold onto him, now. He’s as reliable as they come.”

Zelda tittered, “I am well aware he is– However, I have been eager to talk to you personally.”

Bolson’s eyes grew wide with exaggerated shock, his fingers lightly pressed to his chest. “Moi?! Well whyever would that be, darling?”

“Bolson, I believe I have some work I’d like to hire your company for. I can only assume you’re one of the few construction companies left in Hyrule.”

Bolson nodded. “That’s correct, my dear Princess. And not only that, we’re the best at what we do!”

Zelda smiled, admiring his enthusiasm. He was so eccentric, like he was right out of the marketplace in Castle Town. “Well, if that is the case, I think I may have a job for you.”

“Anything, Princess! What’ll it be?”

Zelda smirked. “How would you feel about restoring Hyrule Castle?”

Bolson paused, his brain clearly turning trying to comprehend the job that had just been presented to him. “… I-I … The castle? Like, _The_ Hyrule Castle?”

“That’s correct. There is much to be done if we are to begin rebuilding the kingdom, but much of that is … well, rebuilding our capital! If Link trusts you, I see no reason that you wouldn’t be up to the task. So–” Zelda stood her ground, feeling like a true diplomat for the first time. “How about it?”

Bolson took a long breath, exhaling through his mouth before he spoke. “How much will it pay?”

Zelda’s ears twitched. “Huh?”

“The pay? I mean like … Rupees.” He asked again, rubbing his thumb against his fingertips.

Zelda’s hands fell to her sides. How could she be so stupid?! They had nothing to pay him with but the rupees in Link’s pocket. “Um … ummm, uh … w-well–” She stammered.

She didn’t get far before a laugh burst from Bolson’s gut. He keeled over in laughter, slapping his knee like he’d just heard the best joke he’d ever heard in his life. “Oh! Oh Princess … I’m sorry, I don’t mean to tease. I was merely joking! I could never turn down a chance to put hammer and nail to the greatest piece of architecture in ten thousand years!”

Zelda’s eyes lit up, her hands clasped in front of her chest. “So you’ll do it?!”

“Of course, my darling! Now, we will need time to recruit new hires for a job like this. Probably a bit of traveling before we can get started. I can send word to my boys right now to start hiring.” Bolson pulled out an old, beat up notepad and began jotting down notes.

“Oh, I can’t even begin to thank you enough.” Zelda’s smile felt like it would split her head in two. “When will you leave?”

“Immediately!”

“I-Immediately?” Zelda repeated back to him, feeling guilty for cutting their meeting short. “You don’t need to, there’s really no-”

“Nonsense!” He interrupted turning so he faced away from her, “The Bolson Construction Company prides itself on its quick service!” Bolson brought two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly, causing a man with sharp eyebrows to rear his head in Bolson’s direction. “Karson! Let’s boogie! Big job!”

“Got it, boss!” He called out to him, running off to prepare for the journey, presumably.

Bolson turned back to Zelda once more with a wink. “Until we meet again, Princess!” He finished, turning back with a flourish and walking off in the same direction Karson had so urgently run off to.

Zelda chuckled to herself. What a strange man.

* * *

The sun had definitely been out when the two Hylians had left Hateno Village the next morning, but you wouldn’t know it as they approached the southern base of Mount Lanayru. The clouds had billowed up more and more around the morning sun until finally it was swallowed up. The dull, overcast light of the dawn through the clouds was all that remained.

Link helped Zelda down from Truth’s back before turning his attention to the animal itself, reaching up and scratching behind his ear.

“Alright, buddy …” He spoke softly to the animal. He reached into his bag and pulled out an endura carrot, one of Truth’s favorites, before carefully feeding it to him. “You head back to the village. The people there will take care of you and ride you to Foothill Stable at the base of Death Mountain, and we’ll meet up with you there. You don’t forget me, you hear?” Link explained, placing his forehead against Truth’s. “Don’t worry, bud. It’s just a couple days. I promise.”

He stepped behind the animal and grabbed their belongings from Truth’s saddlebag. Once he had everything they needed, Link gave him a light slap on the hindquarters. “Alright, git!” He called out, causing Truth to turn back around, heading in the direction they came.

Zelda approached him, slipping her wool mittens onto her hands. “He’ll be fine, right? I wouldn’t want him to get lost.” She asked, watching the horse speed up to gallop towards Hateno Village.

“Truth? Oh, he’ll be fine. He’s smarter than he looks.” Link assured her, slinging his bag over his shoulder before handing Zelda her own. “He’ll be waiting for us at the base of Death Mountain. Trust me.”

Zelda nodded, taking her bag and strapping it to her back. This climbing harness would definitely come in handy for carrying her things, and the warm, puffy jacket Link had purchased in Hateno was doing wonders for keeping the creeping cold at bay. “Shall we go, then?”

“Yeah, but one thing first.” Link said, securing his sword on his back.

“What’s that?” Zelda asked, tilting her head quizzically.

“Promise me that you’re okay to make it up the mountain.” Link stated sternly.

His sudden tone shift didn’t go unnoticed. “I did tell you that I would be fine, didn’t I? I’m perfectly fine.” Zelda couldn’t deny that the pain from her overexerted body was still present, but it was nowhere near as bad as her first day. She considered that a massive improvement. Zelda wouldn’t lie to Link, she truly believed that she was in perfect condition to ascend the mountain trail.

“Okay. Because I need to let you know, this is the point of no return.” Link explained, gesturing to the start of the path, angling up into the snowy peaks of Mount Lanayru. “Just keep your legs moving, don’t stop for too long, and we can definitely cross the mountain by the end of the day … As long as there’s no incident.” He finished as he started towards the mountain.

“Incident?” Zelda queried, following closely behind him. “I’m sure that you know this path like the back of your hand by now. What could happen?”

“Well, any number of things, really.” Link clarified, “Rockslides, avalanches, monster attacks, the works. The mountains are especially treacherous, so stay as close as possible.”

Zelda hadn’t considered the danger that may lay in wait atop Mount Lanayru. The last time she had arrived here was from the west, through the Lanayru Promenade. That was the day of the Calamity. The day that she had failed her people. Zelda took a moment to look up at the mountain once again, a hulking beast of a landmark which, in that moment, felt imposing and ruinous. Had it been the mountain that had deemed her unfit on that fateful day?

Would it do so again?

“Princess!” Zelda was snapped back to reality by the far-off voice of her knight, standing about 20 feet away and waving her over.

That was right. She had conquered that destiny one hundred years ago, and her fate was now hers to command. She would muster up all her strength and conquer this trial for the good of her people.

“I’m coming!” Zelda hurried her pace, catching up with Link just as he reached the mountain path, beginning the hours-long ascent over Mount Lanayru.

* * *

In a perfect world, Link had envisioned a quick trip up the mountain. As long as it didn’t snow, the two of them would only need to deal with the usual biting cold.

They were not as lucky as he had hoped.

About a quarter into their ascent, Link had noticed snow falling. At that point, he had immediately advised Zelda that this route would be too risky. Zelda, however, protested the idea, saying that a little snow wasn’t going to hurt them on the hike up. She had insisted that as long as they reached the highest point on the trail before the weather got too bad, the trip down the north side of the mountain would be a breeze. Link agreed– reluctantly– but couldn’t ignore the seed of worry burying itself into the back of his mind.

Zelda sighed, stopping only briefly to stretch out her legs. She knew that she was the only one who spoke for her personal well-being and ability to climb the mountain, but she was beginning to surprise even herself. Her pain was present, but only ever discouraged her, never stopped her completely. Zelda was positively beaming to be back on her own two feet again, walking the holy mountain which had refused to answer her prayers so long ago. With all that behind her, the mountain was incredible, truly a monument to Din and her impeccable eye for physical beauty.

Link couldn’t return the sentiment, however. His mind was too preoccupied with the Princess’s safety. His eyes were affixed to every single step she took, fretting that the mountain would simply crumble away beneath her, sending her plummeting to a terrible fate. Link shuddered at the thought, trying his best to maintain focus on the task at hand.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Zelda piped up after a long few hours of silence, holding the hood of her coat close to her face.

“What is?” Link asked, with an eyebrow cocked in her direction.

“The view, of course!” She answered. Zelda motioned to the sprawling hills just outside the view of the cliffs. The two travelers could clearly see the outline of Hyrule Castle in the distance, and from here Zelda could almost imagine it was just like it was one hundred years ago, standing tall and proud as a beacon of hope to everyone living in Hyrule. “Isn’t it wonderful? A view like this is something somebody experiences only once, maybe twice, in a whole lifetime.”

Link nodded with a shrug. “I suppose.” He replied, his words registered in Zelda’s ears as unfazed.

“You don’t agree?” Zelda prodded, turning back to face him.

“I mean …” Link stopped for a moment, trying to find the best words to describe how he felt. “I’ve been out here for a long time. I’ve been up every mountain and I’ve crossed every valley. I’ve seen it all. At this point, it’s just … I dunno. It’s hard to find the same excitement I felt the first time I saw this view, you know?”

Zelda frowned, “Is that so?” Her heart ached for him. She couldn’t imagine a view like that ever feeling empty to her.

“This is the fourth time I’ve been here.” He added. “At least since I woke up.”

Zelda gave him a sympathetic look, her eyes burning into his for just a moment before the two of them averted their eyes. As she walked up the barely-there trail that hugged the mountain, she mulled over what he might have thought when he saw Hyrule’s rolling hills and craggy mountaintops for the first time. The wonder he must have felt upon discovering the world all over again.

She also wondered when that magic had faded for him. When had the world of Hyrule become more of an obstacle, possibly even a burden, to him? She was about to open her mouth to speak, to say something that she hoped would be able to help him remember his love for the land …

When suddenly a sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she felt her body begin to drop.

To Zelda, it all happened in an instant, but Link saw everything from a few footpaces behind. He watched as Zelda’s foot slid off an icy stone, causing her weight to land on the side of her foot. Her ankle contorted as she fell, and Link’s stomach dropped as she landed on her hands and knees, sprawling dangerously close to the edge of the icy cliff.

“Princess! Are you–” Link’s words were cut off by the sound of a loud crack beneath her. Zelda’s eyes shot up to her knight, meeting his own, as he broke out into a sprint, trying to reach her before it was too late.

“Link!!” Zelda was only able to cry out his name once before the cliff began to fall away beneath her. Her wooly gloves were scrambling for a grip on what was left of the ice slicked cliffs as the rest plummeted a drop she would be lucky to survive. Her arm screamed in pain as her entire body weight relied on it to keep her from falling. Zelda moved to reach up with her other arm but froze as she felt her fingers slipping with each movement.

“Link! L-Link, please help me!” She called out, her voice shaking with fear. She could only see directly upwards at the peak of the mountain and the drifting snowflakes in front of a grey, clouded sky. In that moment, Zelda felt that perhaps this is what was meant to happen. Perhaps she was meant to drop hundreds of feet to her death. To go out with whimper just as her beloved Hyrule had.

She watched with unwavering dread as her fingers slipped more and more from the edge …

“Zelda!!” Link had made a desperate dive towards her, landing chest first on the ground. He had seized her wrist in the nick of time, clutching onto her for dear life.

“Link!!” She screamed back up at him, her rapid breath was panicked. “Link, please don’t let go! Please don’t! Please!!”

“Zelda– Zelda calm down!” He shouted in return, grabbing onto her forearm with his other hand. “I’m not gonna let you go! I promise I won’t let go!” Link gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might, his boots fighting for leverage. He wouldn’t let her fall. Not after everything they went through. To have it end like this was never an option.

Zelda’s eyes filled with fear for her life. “I’m sorry– Link, I’m so sorry …” She started.

“The hell are you apologizing for!?” Her roared back to her, which left Zelda in stunned silence, heaving her upper body back onto the solid cliff. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got you …” He whispered once he had pulled her close enough for her to hear.

With one final grunt, he heaved her lower body back up onto the edge before collapsing onto his back, panting for air. “Oh shit– It’s okay, we’re okay …” He muttered, mostly to quell his own nerves.

Zelda felt a cold biting at her eyes as the tears that had formed began to freeze on her face as the wind began to pick up. “Oh Goddess … Oh Hylia …” Zelda shuddered to herself as she wiped the tears from her face, trying to calm her laboured breathing.

“Are you okay?” Link asked breathlessly, sitting up to look her over. “Did you hit your head?”

“N-No, but …” Zelda carefully held her right leg, staring at her ankle which was becoming tight inside her boot. She attempted to rotate it, successfully at first, but halfway around, Link watched her wince from the pain. It was definitely twisted.

“Oh no …” Zelda looked up to the sky as the snow began to fall harder than before. “Link, I-I don’t know if I can w-walk …”

“Damn …” Link rose to his feet, looking up to see much harder snowfall headed their way. That would only make things more difficult.

“Link … Oh Goddess, Link I’m so sorry … This is all my fault.” She spoke softly. Zelda couldn’t help but feel guilty. If she had just been looking where she was going. If she had just listened to Link and taken the long way around. If she had just listened to her father all those years ago …

“Stop talking like that.” His was stern, but not harsh. “I’ve been in worse spots than this.” Link looked around, trying to determine the best option of survival. To be stranded out in a storm, even a small one like this, could be very bad. They had to move as fast as possible.

“Okay … Here’s what we’re gonna do.” As Link spoke he slipped his bag from his back and switched it to his front. He knelt down close to his princess, “Grab onto my shoulders, I’ll carry you.”

“What?!” Zelda knew it wasn’t the time, but she couldn’t keep her face from flushing red at the very idea. “Link, I can’t ask you to do that, we aren’t even halfway!”

“Princess, I need you to trust me.” He commanded, his blue eyes piercing hers intensely. “Do you trust me?”

Zelda opened her mouth to object, but swiftly closed it. She knew that he knew this new Hyrule better than anyone. To assume she knew better would simply be incorrect. “Okay.” Zelda agreed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, feeling the faint heat from his body through his thick coat.

“Good.” Link stood up much more easily with her on his back than she expected. As Zelda’s feet left the ground Link could feel them grip onto his sides. He hooked his hands under her knees to keep her steady. Zelda wasn’t nearly as heavy as the rock steaks he had fetched for those Gorons on Death Mountain, but the equipment in his bag combined with hers made for an awkward load. Still, Link knew it was nothing he couldn’t handle. “Are you able to grab the Slate?”

“Huh?” Zelda grunted, his voice harder to hear over the approaching storm.

“The Sheikah Slate!” He repeated, louder this time.

“Oh, yes!” She let go of his shoulders for a moment, reaching into her bag and grabbing the slate which powered to life at her touch. “What do you need it for?” She asked, passing it to him carefully.

“I’m looking for shelter.” Link spoke slowly as he fiddled with the numerous runes on the screen, trying to find one in particular. Finally, Link located the Sheikah Sensor. It was a rune designed for locating rare materials based on scanned in data within the compendium of materials. Link began scanning the area around the mountain for fruitful ore deposits. He knew of numerous caves containing precious metals around here, which would provide decent shelter to wait out this storm.

“There!” He spoke loudly enough for her to hear. “Right around the other side. If we hurry, we can make it in about twenty minutes. Can you hang on for that long?” Link asked.

“Y-Yes, I think so.” Zelda answered, trying to keep her teeth from chattering as the snowfall increased.

“Great. Let’s get moving.” Link spoke before stepping off the path into knee-deep snow, making his way towards the northern side of the mountain where shelter awaited them.

* * *

Link’s breathing was ragged and his nose beet red from the cold by the time they reached their destination. The cave had been covered by rubble, but a small, controlled blast from the Slate’s Bomb Rune made quick work of that.

Once inside, Link laid Zelda against the wall and immediately set to work starting a fire using kindling from his bag paired with the flint that he was able to scavenge from the cave itself. Soon he had a modest fire going, but their altitude made the air thin, so keeping fire burning became an uphill battle.

Unfortunately, Link didn’t have any supplies to mix a warming elixir, and even if he did, this puny fire wouldn’t be enough to brew it. Link suggested huddling together for warmth, and Zelda was only hesitant for a moment before agreeing that it would be best– for survival. The two sat by the fire, both wrapped in Saki’s Rito comforter as they leaned against each other.

Soon, the sun was beginning to set as the storm raged on outside. Link sighed in frustration. The air was only getting colder, and he could hear Zelda’s teeth chattering more and more as the temperature dropped.

Link checked the Slate and saw the temperature was -28°C(1). He grimaced. If it got any colder, even with all these layers, they were going to risk frostbite.

 _Layers…_ Link thought to himself, before remembering something he had heard in Rito Village from a noted survival expert.

“P-Princess …” He got her attention through chattering teeth.

“Y-Y-Y-Yes?” Zelda answered. He could tell that the temperature was getting to her worse than him.

“I … I think I know how we can w-warm up …” He explained, not finding it in him to look her in the eye.

“W-What is it?” Zelda prodded, leaning in closer.

“I … I heard that w-when in situations l-like this …” Link swallowed as his face grew red, why was this so hard to say? “S-S-Skin-to-skin contact conducts the m-most heat.”

“O-Okay …” Zelda was not sure what he meant. Only when Link grabbed onto the bottom of his coat, and pulled it over his head did she clue in. “O-Oh! Oh my …” Zelda flushed red as Link pulled his shirt off as well, his skin reddened from the cold. She couldn’t help but briefly admire his physique. He had more scars then she recalled, each with its own story, no doubt.

“P-Princess, I uh …” Link stammered, not sure if it was from the cold or his nerves, “I need you to uh …”

Zelda’s eyes went wide in realization, fixating on the ground below. “Oh! O-Of course …” Zelda moved away from him for just moment, undoing her coat and laying it next to the fire to dry. She glanced at Link to see if he was looking as she grasped the bottom of her shirt, but saw his gaze respectfully glued to the cave wall. She pulled both layers of her shirt off of her body, leaving her arms bare. She wondered if maybe he’d steal a look at her in her underclothes. But he never did.

Frankly, Link’s heart was pounding too hard to even think of looking at the Princess this bare before him. He didn’t know why, but just the thought of that gave him a sensation which he could only describe as akin to a heart attack. His heart hammered in his chest and threatened to give out under such stress. “G-Good … now just l-lean a-against me …” He instructed, moving closer.

“O-Okay …” Zelda complied, leaning her head against his shoulder at first. She gasped as their skin touched. His skin felt as if it contained a burning fire against the bitter cold of the storm. Her rapid breaths slowly turned to sighs of relief, feeling her own body heat feeding off of his and vice versa. It was a circle of sustainable life, giving warmth and comfort to the other in equal measure.

Link slowly wrapped his arms around Zelda, wanting to warm her ice-cold body as fast as he could. “I-I-Is this okay?”

“Y-Yes, that’s q-quite alright …” Zelda assured him.

“Good …”

Link could feel her body beginning to warm up slowly as the minutes passed. However, as the relief flooded over him, he couldn’t help but notice that he continued to shake. His heart still beat so hard that he worried that Zelda could hear it with her head so near. What he felt was some sort of strange combination of anxiety and comfort, and Link simply couldn’t place what was causing it.

“Link …” Zelda’s voice was almost a whisper.

“Wh-What is it?” He answered, matching her volume.

“I’m …” Her breath hitched, tears pricking at her eyes, “I’m s-so sorry for all of this. I sh-should have listened to you.”

“No, please don’t blame yourself.” Link spoke.

“This is all m-my fault … We w-wouldn’t be in this mess if I had j-just listened to you.”

“Please, no.” He felt as if he had to beg her to understand.

The wind suddenly whipped up for a moment, whipping the two’s hair every which way as Link shielded her from the cold. In a moment of uncharacteristic closeness, he reached up and gently ran his hand along the back of her head before tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I don’t blame you, Zelda. You couldn’t have known.”

Zelda’s watering eyes lit up at his touch. “But I should’ve been more careful. I should have known my limits … I’m so sorry …”

“Princess …” Link whispered, his eyes moving to the entrance of the cave.

“I’ve put us in danger. I’ve put _you_ in danger!”

“Princess …” He repeated, trying to get her attention.

“How could I be such a fool? How could I-“

“Princess!” Link repeated one last time, silencing Zelda. Her gaze followed his as he pointed towards the cave entrance. “Look.”

Zelda gasped at what she saw outside the cave. The storm had mysteriously stopped, a light snowfall being the only thing left behind from the blizzard.

But the Dragon is what was truly breathtaking.

“Naydra.” Link whispered, gawking at the Dragon which drifted lazily over the Lanayru Bay.

Naydra – the ancient Dragon which served the Spring of Wisdom for time immemorial. The massive beast soared amidst the sky, its frigid wind blowing around its long form which seemed to effortlessly glide through the air. Link only encountered the Dragon once before on his travels. Of the three Dragons that graced the Hyrulean skies at night, Naydra was the only one attacked by Calamity Ganon’s malice. Link had saved the Dragon and was granted access to the Spring of Wisdom.

The Dragons of Hyrule had developed many complex legends to explain their inconstant presence over time, but very few in Hyrule could ever claim to have truly seen one as close as Link has.

Link and Zelda both sat in silence as Naydra’s wind carried the blizzard eastward, out towards the ocean. The two gasped as they heard its long, high pitched cry echo against the mountain range. Link felt in that moment that Naydra was speaking to him. He felt that perhaps the dragon could sense their peril and had come to repay the favour that Link had granted to it. Or perhaps the Dragon had no reason to be passing through the mountains other than its own volition.

Link had always thought of himself as imperative to a larger cause– vanquishing the Calamity and restoring peace to Hyrule. But in that moment, he just felt like a man. An ordinary man before a creature that seemed to be so much more than he was or could ever be.

“L-Link, look!” Zelda exclaimed, pointing past the dragon. Slowly, the clouds began to clear from the opposing mountain range, revealing what sat atop the mountain range running along Rutala River.

Vah Ruta.

The two of them watched the Dragon wordlessly until it was completely out of sight, soaring back up into the endless night sky. Soon, the warmth from each other’s bodies lulled them into sleep as they held each other, bundled in blankets, sitting by that tiny fire until it was finally snuffed out by a stay wind. They would be in the Domain tomorrow and could get Zelda’s ankle looked at before finally attending to their business with the Divine Beast.


	3. Chapter 3

A pleasant sight awaited the travellers the following morning. Naydra’s passing last night had blown all the snow that would have fallen during the storm to the east, way out into the ocean. Link was happy to not have to dig their way out of the cave, but Zelda had other problems that she needed to address.

Carefully, Zelda braced herself on the cave wall, all her weight resting on her good foot. “Okay … Okay, easy …” She muttered to herself, slowly lifting her injured foot and planting it on the smooth cave floor. She rotated slowly, putting minimal effort on the leg to reduce the pain. “Ha … See? Nothing to w-” She was cut off as a splitting pain shot through her ankle, hissing through her teeth. Had it not been for Link nearby to catch her under the arm, she would have easily collapsed. 

“Ugh. Shoot.” Zelda groaned, letting herself slide down the cave wall until she was seated once again. Her signature pout was back, her head bowing under the reality that she wouldn't be able to walk out of here on her own.

Link sighed. “It’s definitely twisted. Maybe even sprained.” He explained. He had hoped that the injury was only superficial, something that would have waned in the morning. However, the swelling that had made it a tough task to even slip Zelda’s boot on told them otherwise. “I’ll have to carry you the rest of the way.”

Zelda snapped her head back up and she felt her face get hot at the very notion, “A-Are you sure? I’m sure I could walk it off.” She lied. 

Link shook his head. “No way. I’m no doctor, but if it’s hurt bad, you’re gonna want to stay off that foot until we can get you treated in the Domain.”

Her stomach twisted in remorse, she would now have to deal with a bum ankle for her negligence. And she would be burdening Link once more by carrying her the rest of the way, lengthening their journey which is what she was trying to avoid in the first place! Link had assured her that she couldn’t have known what would happen on the trail, but her heart still ached to slow them down in such a way.

Link strode towards the mouth of the cave, looking out at Vah Ruta bathed in the morning sunbeams. Since he had last left the Domain, Ruta had been mostly docile, pointing directly at her fated target until the moment the attack had been mounted. Zelda had mentioned before they had set off that Vah Ruta had been acting strangely, but this was Link’s first time seeing what she meant.

Vah Ruta was moving. The movements were subtle, but definitely noticeable. Zelda had said that morning that Vah Ruta appeared to be scanning the land for something of significance. Link couldn’t help but wonder what it may be.

Until that moment.

Link crossed his arms as he leaned up against the side of the cave entrance taking notice of it's strange behaviour. Vah Ruta took long, deliberate steps as it turned in place in the small pool of water it had made its home. Link furrowed his brow. It seemed to be looking directly at him. Link turned to tell Zelda when he heard it.

_ Link… _

He froze. The voice seemed to be coming from … inside of his head. Just as Zelda’s had similarly done when he awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection. He turned back to the Divine Beast, letting out a shaky breath which billowed from his mouth in the chilly weather. 

Vah Ruta … It was pointed straight at him, there was no mistaking it. Was it … waiting for them? Link opened up his mouth again but found himself interrupted once more by that voice.

_ Link … I don’t have much time … _

That voice. The voice of a woman, so gentle and fragile. Link felt a shudder start within his chest that radiated out through his whole body, finally releasing from his lips as a staggered breath. Vah Ruta wasn’t looking for them.

_ She  _ was looking for  _ him _ .

_ There is a matter of great importance to Hyrule…  _ The voice explained.  _ But … there have been words left unsaid as well … I wish not to leave you with regrets. Please, Link … hurry to Zora’s Domain … _

_ Hurry … to me … _

As the voice faded, Vah Ruta began to turn once again to face the vast fields of Hyrule. Link was left aghast. He thought that the days of mysterious voices calling for his aid was at an end.

He had been wrong before.

“Link?” Link turned with a start, seeing Zelda standing, propped up against the wall behind him. “Is everything alright? Is Vah Ruta acting strange?”

Link felt compelled to tell her what he had heard … but if it was really  _ her _ that spoke to him, then he felt that perhaps it was best he kept that to himself. “N-No, not really.” He lied, his eyes glued to her boots. “She’s been a little more restless. Perhaps it knows that we’re almost there?”

“Then we should move with haste.” Zelda pulled her coat close to her face and limped cautiously out of the cave, putting as little weight on her swollen foot as possible.

“I agree.” Link confirmed.

Zelda turned to him with wide eyes. “Y-you do? What happened to my knight 'Sir Scrupulous'?”

She sounded like a book again with her big words. “An injured royal happened," He explained with a laugh. 

Zelda responded with a pout, not impressed by such a joke. “Then what’s the plan?”

His eyes met with Vah Ruta in the distance again. He needed to get there by today. She said she didn’t have much time … So, how much time did she have? It was impossible to know. He couldn't risk wasting time.

Link approached the edge, surveying the expanse of Lanayru Bay. The original plan was to travel along the bay north until they reached the Domain. With Zelda as she was now, Link would have to carry her the whole way, which would probably cost them another day. What they needed was efficiency. Link considered crossing the bay via boat, but even then the climb down the mountain would be treacherous. And then they would have to consider building a raft to cross it. It all added up to be even longer than the original route.

He racked his brain for an answer before he remembered the Dragon from the night prior. Link smirked, an idea beginning to form in his mind. 

“Have you ever gone paragliding before?”

* * *

“I just want to go on the record to say that this is insane.  _ You _ are insane!”

“Duly noted.” Link spoke, connecting the back of her harness to the front of his with a section of braided rope. He gave a few test tugs to make sure that Zelda was firmly secured so that– heaven forbid– if she let go of the glider that she wouldn't drop down into the bay below. Hitting the water from such a height was on par with landing straight onto stone, Link knew this from experience.

After securing their bags and supplies to both of their harnesses, the only thing left to do was take off.

Zelda looked back over her shoulder at him, "You don't seriously use this to get around do you?"

Link reached back and grabbed the folded glider from his bag, "Sure do." With a flick of his wrists the item unfurled to full size. Holding the glider by its sturdy handles, he indicated to Zelda where she should hold on. “Are you ready, Princess?” 

“Link, I don't know about thi–”

Suddenly, she felt Link bend forward, bending her as well. She was about to inquire what was going on when the snow around them picked up and began to swirl. Zelda had seen this before …

“Th-This is–”

“Revali’s Gale.” Link finished. 

With a flick of his glider, a massive gust of wind seemed to come from almost nowhere, launching the two of them high into the sky and away from their mountain refuge. Zelda yelped, a mix of terror and excitement as her feet left the ground. Her eyes clamped shut, almost as tight as her grip on the flying apparatus, as she buried her face into her arm. She kicked her feet out reflexively before slowly resigning to just letting them dangle freely beneath her. She knew that Link had been gifted the powers of the Champions, but to see them in action was something else entirely.

“Y-You’re absolutely unbelievable!!” Zelda shouted back at him, face still hidden against her shoulder. However, Zelda’s heart took to flutter when she heard the genuine sound of laughter from right behind her. She almost never heard him laugh like that. “A-And what’s so funny?!” She demanded to know, her head finally snapping up since they left the ground.

“You!” Link responded bluntly, laughter still tinging his speech. “Don’t worry! I’ve done this a hundred times! You’re in good hands, Your Highness!” He called over the wind whipping past them.

Zelda opened her mouth to retort but simply resigned with a pout. “You’re so reckless! I can’t even begin to …” Her speech trailed off as she beheld the view before her. 

It was the Domain! Link had flung them so high into the air that Zelda could not only see the spire of Zora’s Domain, but the East Reservoir as well. A glance to the east showed the morning sun glistening over the ocean, the waves rippling and refracting the light in what Zelda could only describe as art in motion. “This is… incredible.” Zelda whispered to herself, too quiet for Link to hear as they soared over the bay.

Zelda considered glancing downward to comprehend the altitude of their flight, but decided against it. She had never gone paragliding before, but figured that looking down was probably one of the worst things you could do. The last thing she wanted was to panic while being hundreds of feet in the air.

Link was hyper-focused on the task at hand, carefully adjusting the glider’s trajectory with subtle movements of his arms and the shifting of his center of gravity. His eyes were glued to the approaching cliffs. However, he couldn't ignore how her presence, quite literally attached to his body, made him feel. 

Zelda was pressed up against him, her body leaning into his instinctively to keep herself safe. Link had never been one for human contact, even before he went under one hundred years ago. But while his presence made her feel safe, somehow she did the same for him. Her warmth, the sound of her breathing, every tiny noise she made gave Link a quiet solace that he was not afforded on his journey before. It was an unfamiliar phenomenon for him, an emotion that hadn’t shown itself in all his time on the road before…

But when he glanced over at Vah Ruta, he remembered the voice that had echoed in his head. When he last boarded the Divine Beast, that serene voice had evoked the same response he felt now, and yet still, he could not begin to place exactly what it was.

The two feelings began to overlap, like a song with the exact same rhythm and beat. It made his head spin. What was going on? What was wrong with him?

“L-Link?” Zelda’s voice pulled him from his deep thoughts, alerting him to the fact that he had begun to veer off-course.

“Sorry!” He called out to her, adjusting the flight path back towards the cliffs.

He shook his head, trying to right his mind. 

He was just tired from a long night in a cold cave on a snowy mountain. That's all. When they got to Zora's Domain, he would have a much needed rest in one of those fancy waterbeds and he’d be right as rain. Oh, how he missed those beds. Link was sure that only a cloud could possibly top the waterbeds of the domain.

The cliffs were approaching quickly, and Zelda was preparing to land. “Wait, so how does this work?” Zelda called back to him, watching as the void beneath them was filled by the green grass of the Lanayru province.

“Just relax and let me do all the work!” He responded, angling the glider down and causing them to descend faster before pulling up again to slow themselves. Zelda yelped as the glider peaked back up into the air. When Link let go of it, and the two began to plummet, she couldn’t help but cry out once again. 

Fortunately, her brave knight was prepared. She felt Link’s hand behind her legs as he hooked his arm under her knees and supported her back with his other hand, all while mid-fall. Zelda heard Link grunt as his feet connected with the ground, and just like that … they had arrived. They had successfully crossed the border into the province of Lanayru, home of the Zora, in a matter of minutes!

Link grit his teeth, wincing in silence to keep his composure. He had fallen from quite a bit higher than he had expected, and even though he kept his knees bent, the shock from the landing radiated up his legs. Still, he shook it off, smiling at the Princess as he held her in his arms.

Zelda blushed like a rose all the way to the tips of her ears as he looked down at her, carrying her like a bride on her wedding night. “W-What are you looking at me like that for?”

Link suddenly noticed he had been holding her for a good while now, and it showed on his face. “Oh! Sorry, I was just uh … letting my legs settle.” He spoke, knowing that excuse would probably do as well as any other. His gaze moved upward to where his paraglider was still opened, blowing away across the windy plain. “Oh dammit …” He knelt down, carefully placing Zelda on the ground amongst the green grass and unhooking the rope attaching their harnesses together. “One second!” He called back before rushing off to retrieve it.

Zelda sighed, still trying to catch her breath from the adrenaline rush of such a risky maneuver. Still, he was right. They were both here, safe and sound. Zelda could feel the heat from the sun beating down on her and it became increasingly noticeable how hot this coat was making her. She carefully undid her coat and removed the rest of her heavy layers, sighing with relief. She laid back down in the grass, which was no longer misted with dew, allowing her arms to fall outwards as she gazed up at the mid-morning sky.

As long as they took the road, it would only be a matter of hours before they would arrive in the Domain. Once they arrived, Zelda would have her chance to examine Vah Ruta to see what was causing such a stir. Things were finally starting to come into focus and the future looked bright for the two of them.

Link stood only a couple of yards away. He held the folded glider in his arms, but was rooted in place, transfixed with Vah Ruta which still shuffled about, uneased by something, be it physical or mental. He knew what it was that needed to be done.

“I’m on my way.” He spoke, barely a whisper, to nobody in particular, the wind blowing against his back to carry his words away. “Just hang on a bit longer. I’ll be there soon …”

“Mipha.”

* * *

The remaining trip across Lanayru to Zora’s Domain was uneventful to say the least. Link carried Zelda atop his back just like before, except with the welcome exclusion of blowing snow and sub-zero temperatures. Zelda was nothing compared to some of the things he had carried across Hyrule, so he had no complaints.

The princess was apprehensive at the idea of being carried into Zora's Domain like a piece of luggage, but was beginning to appreciate the decision. With all of the heavy layers of clothing removed, she could feel the heat of his body through his tunic, and if she pressed her ear to his back she could hear his heart beating steadily. It was becoming one of her favourite sounds. She found herself being lulled into sleep by it as they travelled in silence.

“Hey, Princess.” Link gently nudged her, bringing her back to her senses.

“Hmm? What” She asked sleepily, letting go with one hand to clear her eyes of sleep.

“We’re here.” Link informed her with a smirk, his blue eyes shining. Zelda looked ahead and let out a sigh of relief.

Zora’s Domain, home of the water-dwelling Zora people. Zelda’s eyes travelled up and up, following the silver spire in the center of the city all the way into the sky. The Zora had always been ones to live lavishly. They lived to see well over 500 years, so it only made sense for them to indulge in the finer aspects of life in Hyrule. From what Zelda recalled one hundred years ago, this meant fine jewelry, exquisite cuisine and hosting the finest parties that high society could deliver.

The people of the Domain now lived secluded and secretive lives, like many of the other tribes of Hyrule after the Calamity, but the eccentricities of one hundred years ago still remained in the city itself. Ornate silver spires reached towards the heavens, massive structures of mythril beauty that were carefully crafted over thousands of years. The city was adorned with luminous stones which lit up the area without the use of torches, which could easily be put out by the damp climate and rainy weather. Even as they approached, the sound of waterfalls crashing to the pool of water that made up the subaquatic portion of the city rang out all around them. It was truly a sight to behold, even to Zelda who had been here countless times in her youth.

“It’s just as I remembered it.” Zelda spoke, still in awe of how closely her memories came to the real thing after so long, considering the state the rest of her country was left in.

Link smiled as he stepped onto the long bridge that led into the center of the domain. The sound of dirt crunching beneath his feet was now gone, replaced with the satisfying tapping of his boots on the marbled stone tiles. He sighed with relief. The act of stepping out of the wilderness and back into civilization never failed to shed the tension that he hadn't even felt building within him. Survival was stressful. Even more so with such important company.

As they approached the gate to enter the city, the guard standing by noticed the hero’s silhouette instantly.

Dunma, the younger of the two guards stationed at the bridge, was the first to greet him. “Hey Link!” She called out with a wave. She glanced over at the other guard– her father, Rivan– who had been nursing a headache all morning, the product of a night spent by the bottle. He was propped up against the gate, spear nestled in the crook of his crossed arms, with his eyes shut as he dozed off on the job. 

Dunma rolled her eyes, “Typical.” She set her spear down by the gate, running up to greet the Hylian Champion.

She slowed her pace when she realized that Link was carrying somebody on his back. “Hey, what’s going on?” She asked as she reached the two travellers. Now close enough to see who was on his back, Link could see that perhaps she recognized who his companion was.

Link stopped, lifting the Princess up to keep her from sliding off his back. “Hey, sorry, but the Princess rolled her ankle on the way here, could we get something to help with that?” He requested, confirming Dunma’s suspicions.

“Y-Yes, absolutely!" She stammered, gathering herself properly in the presence of the Hylian royal. "Feel free to come into the square and set her down,” Dunma said quickly, running over to the gate once more.

Dunma rushed up to her father and guardmate and gave him a swift kick to the shin, causing him to cry out in pain. “Owww! Dunma, what the hell?” He asked, his speech sleepy and slurred.

“Wake up, you old fool.” She demanded. “The damned Princess is here and she needs medical attention. Seems to have busted her ankle something nasty.”

Rivan glanced over to see Link carrying Princess Zelda, yes  _ that _ Zelda, into the Domain and realized that he would have to pull himself together quickly. “Y-Yeah okay, okay.” He spoke, stumbling off to find a doctor who would be able to help.

Link carefully lowered Zelda onto a nearby bench, and the princess took her first opportunity to stretch since they set off. Her back arched and every sore bone in her body seemed to pop back into place. “Oh, thank you so much.” She spoke, rotating her arm in the socket. “Are you quite alright? I do hope I wasn’t too much of a burden to carry.”

Link shook his head with a smirk. “Not at all, Your Highness. You were light as a feather.”

Zelda giggled, returning his smirk. “That’s the correct answer.” Zelda took a moment to test her ankle, placing a little weight on it before flinching back, sucking in damp air through her teeth. “Ah … still tender.” She said to herself more than anyone. She had hoped it wasn’t sprained, or even worse– broken. At any other time, she would have loved a week-long vacation in Zora’s Domain while she recovered, but now was not the time.

“Excuse me, coming through!” Link and Zelda turned to see an all white Zora carrying a Lizalfos skin medical bag approaching. He rushed through a crowd of onlookers who had noticed the princess’s arrival, and stopped before the two Hylians. He went to speak, but took a moment to catch his breath with his hands on his knees. “I’m sorry, are … you ARE Princess Zelda, correct?”

Zelda chuckled, nodding to confirm his suspicions.

“Excellent!” He exclaimed, standing up straight and extending a hand to the seated Princess. “My name is Cappell. I’m the head of medicine for the royal family of Zora’s Domain. I’ve been told that you may have sustained an injury while travelling here?” He asked, whipping out a notebook to take note of her symptoms.

Zelda blushed, a bit embarrassed by her mishap, “Oh, I just took a bit of a tumble, that's all...” She admitted.

Link cocked his head to the side. “Wow, I’m surprised that Rivan was able to get the head of medicine to come right out and help us so quickly. Never really seemed like a guy that can be counted on to do something quickly and efficiently.”

“Rivan? What on earth do you mean?” Cappell inquired, “I’m afraid I haven’t spoken with Rivan today.”

Link shot Cappell a look of confusion. “But Rivan went to go get a doctor. If he didn’t send you, who did?”

“Well, it was-” 

Cappell started to speak, but was interrupted by a booming laughter coming from the silver steps of the palace. Link, Zelda and Cappell all turned to face the source.

On the steps stood a familiar face, though much different to Zelda from the last time she had seen him. The Zora prince stood tall, well over double Link’s height. His shoulders were broad, but his form was sleek and aerodynamic, made for power and speed– quite the desirable trait among the Zora. His torso was adorned with gems and silver filigree, signifying him as a man of noble descent, to be respected and admired by his people. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he spread his arms wide and spoke in a loud, kind voice.

“My dear friend, Link! It has been too long since the Goddess last brought us both together!” Sidon boomed, “And who else? The Princess Zelda, alive and well! What a glorious day!”

Link smiled wide as he left Zelda’s side for a moment to meet him halfway, offering a hand to shake but finding himself scooped up in a mighty swing of a hug. “Whoa! Easy there, big guy!” He laughed, the two sharing a moment together before Sidon released him from his embrace, letting the Hylian drop back down to the ground. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but we had some complications getting here and didn’t have time to send word.”

Sidon scoffed, waving his apology off, “Think nothing of it, my friend. If you came into my home with an angry Bokoblin strapped to your back, I would welcome it as my kin.” Sidon suddenly realized how much attention he was giving his good friend, glancing over at the princess which watched them interact with slight confusion. “Oh! But where are my manners? Princess Zelda!” He called out, making long strides over to her and taking her hand in both of his own. “Princess, it is so good to see you again. It has been oh so long!"

He flashed her a bright smile, and suddenly the pieces began to fall into place. “... Prince Sidon? Is that really you?”

Sidon chuckled, “It certainly is, Your Highness.”

“My goodness, look at you!” Zelda exclaimed, “When I last saw you, you barely came up to my knee.” She proclaimed with a laugh.

Sidon laughed along with her. “Yes, I was but a small fry then– but look at you! No Hylian could dream of looking as radiant as you after a hundred long years!” 

Link folded his arms and tapped his foot, looking at the Zora Prince expectantly.

Sidon did not miss this look and he laughed, "Well perhaps, maybe one could. But to be fair, Link, you were quite disheveled when I found you. I hardly recognized you under all the muck."

The three shared a laugh that was much needed after such a long time.

“It’s so good to see-” Zelda began to rise to her feet to meet the Zora prince, but winced in pain as her forgotten injury flared up as she stood. 

Sidon leaned in, taking her hand and easing her back down onto the bench. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess. But first, I believe that we should get you taken care of. I noticed you seemed to be injured when I saw you both from up in the palace. He’ll be able to help with your ankle, I assure you.” Sidon motioned to Cappell, who gathered up his things and headed back towards the palace. He turned to face Link again. “I don’t suppose the valiant knight would mind carrying her a couple more steps?”

Link shook his head. “No problem at all.” He strode back over to Zelda, leaning down to assist her. “Let’s go, Your Highness.”

Zelda sighed, climbing back onto Link’s back as he and Sidon made their way into the palace.

Just missing the commotion, Rivan returned, a bit dazed from the late morning excitement, with an elderly Zora doctor in tow. But they returned to only Dunma by the bridge. "Wait, where did the princess go?" He questioned.

Dunma turned to him, "Hm? Who?" She asked, knowing damn well who, but couldn't resist picking on her old man.

"Dunma, for Din's sake, the Princess Zelda? Come on."

" _ The  _ Princess Zelda?" Dunma only laughed, "How much did you drink last night?"

"I didn't!"

"You did."

"Well– Not a lot!"

The elderly zora shook his head, grumbling about how Rivan had wasted his time, and began to walk away.

"Wait! She was really here, I swear!" He pleaded before turning to shoot daggers at his daughter. "Damnit, Dunma! You can't just embarrass me like this, I used to trade blows with the Hylian Champion back in the day!"

The deep purple Zora snickered, "That sounds suggestive, Dad."

Rivan sputtered before throwing his arms up, it wasn't worth the energy, "You're going to be the death of me, child."

* * *

Sidon leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest, “Well, that is quite the tale, Princess. You and Link fought valiantly against the Calamity, and for that, the Zora people are forever indebted to you.”

“You really are too kind, Prince Sidon.” Zelda spoke. 

She sat atop a marble stone table as Cappell applied a substance, one unknown to Zelda, to the swelling on her ankle. It was some sort of clear viscous gel, and it was awfully cold as it was applied. The white Zora apologized as the princess jumped at the touch. However, Zelda began to feel the sensation of the numbing agent in the medicine soon after, relieving her pain almost instantly. “Oh my, that’s incredible!" 

Cappell smiled at the Princess as he finished the simple bandage wrap around her afflicted joint, “Now, could you try and rotate your ankle for me, Princess?”

Zelda complied, rotating her ankle all the way around with ease. “That’s remarkable. I barely feel a thing!”

The Zora doctor chuckled as he rose to his feet. “Well, that means it’s setting properly.” He stepped back, giving her room to stand. “Please, try putting some weight on it– slowly, mind you.”

Zelda nodded, slowly lowering herself onto the cold floor of the palace infirmary on her good foot to start. She carefully lowered her afflicted limb to the ground, placing more and more weight on it as she waited for the pain to bite her back. She had almost given that foot three quarters of her weight before the stinging began, but much more faint. “That’s … remarkable.” She repeated. She had never seen medicine like this one hundred years ago.

Cappell smirked, puffing out his chest with pride. “Yes, indeed. The gel is made from chu jelly, and the key ingredient– funnily enough– is from the spit of a species of Lizalfos found right here in Lanayru.” He explained, “Can you believe that? Right under our noses all this time. Now, you will need to reapply every few hours, whenever the pain gets hard to bear, really.” He reached into his bag, pulling out a small vial of the same fluid. “Just a few dollops will do. And be sure not to get too confident, Princess. Nothing is broken, but even a twisted ankle can develop into something debilitating if you push yourself too far.”

Zelda smiled. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to pace myself. I appreciate the help, really I do.”

The doctor nodded, "It was my pleasure. I would also recommend keeping it wrapped as much as you can as well." Cappel clasped his bag closed and dipped his head to both her and the Zora Prince standing nearby. “Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, Your Highness.” He added before taking his leave.

Sidon stood up straight, approaching the princess where she sat. “You’ve had quite the adventure since you’ve returned to us, haven’t you, Your Highness?”

Zelda chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear, “It never stops!” She looked him up and down, admiring the man he had grown into. The last time she had seen him had been with… 

Mipha.

Zelda’s heart plummeted as she suddenly remembered the grief that Sidon must have endured all those years ago, and most likely still carried with him today. She herself had never had a sibling, her father didn't re-marry after her mother's passing, as is commonplace among Hyrulean royals. So, she could only imagine the pain of losing somebody so near and dear to one's heart.

Zelda was aware that Zora lived a remarkably long time, longer than all the races of Hyrule, but Mipha hadn't even crested 90 years of age when she was struck down by Ganon’s forces on that fateful day. To the people of the Domain, she knew that such a tragic loss must have been earth-shattering.

“... Prince Sidon, I should … I need to-” She began to speak before she was interrupted by Sidon’s hands clapping together.

“Right! I’m terribly sorry, I had almost forgotten in all the commotion! My father says that he would like to speak with you. I do apologize, but His Majesty was quite insistent that you grant him an audience when you arrived.” He explained.

“King Dorephan?” Zelda questioned. She had just been looking for the words to atone to Sidon for what had happened to Mipha, and now she had to do the same for King Dorephan? Her heart ached, but she simply couldn’t find words to describe the sorrow she shared with them. She would have to take her time and choose her words carefully.

She had been given one hundred years to think, after all. That sheer length of time was dizzying to recall.

“Yes, of course,” Zelda agreed, swallowing her words she had tried to gather for Mipha's baby brother. She was being extra ginger on her injured ankle, even with the salve, as she walked out of the infirmary, dwarfed next to Sidon's height. Link followed diligently a pace behind her, finding comfort in the nostalgia of such a familiar position.

* * *

Link stood outside the entrance to the throne room with Sidon, waiting patiently as Zelda spoke with King Dorephan. He sighed, he didn’t remember much, if at all, about all these political discussions of bureaucracy and treaties from back in the day. What he did know was that now, at the very least, he found them dreadfully boring. He found himself beginning to zone out before Sidon piped up.

“Quite the trip you’ve had with Hyrule's dear princess, wasn’t it my friend?” Sidon whispered under his father’s voice booming out from under the large arched doorway.

Link chuckled silently. “Yes, it was quite the adventure. But I’m glad to finally be here in good company.” He spoke, “I look forward to taking a look at Vah Ruta and taking the night to relax.”

“Vah Ruta?” Sidon said quizzically, waiting for Link to elaborate.

Link cocked an eyebrow back at him. “You haven't noticed it acting strangely lately? I could see it fidgeting around all the way from Mount Lanayru.”

Sidon’s eyes met the ceiling as he thought back on the last week or so. “I suppose it  _ has _ been a tad active as of late, but I assumed that was because it had fulfilled its duty.”

“Well, the princess told me that something strange was going on with Vah Ruta. She couldn’t quite explain it, but she said it needed to be addressed– sooner rather than later." He blew part of his long bangs out of his eyes. "That’s why we came all this way in the first place.” Link explained.

Sidon hummed to himself, bringing a thumb up to his chin in thought. “Interesting. You don’t suppose that …” Sidon’s eyes met Link’s, telling him that the prince was thinking the same thing he was. 

“I-I don't know…” He deflected, shifting his weight and letting his eyes drop to the floor.

Link had clearly heard Mipha’s voice on Mount Lanayru, and he knew it was coming from Vah Ruta. She was still onboard. The real question was  _ why _ . At this point, they had fulfilled what they had set out to do 100 years prior and the great evil was finally vanquished, bringing peace to Hyrule. Why was Mipha still hanging onto this mortal coil? Link wanted to say something to Sidon, but held his tongue. He couldn’t give the prince any sort of false hope, not after everything he had done for him.

But still, she had spoken directly to him that morning. She was calling him, and it was a call that he had to answer– one way or another. The burning pit in his gut wouldn’t let him pass up the opportunity to resolve … whatever it was that he was feeling. Whatever made his eyes sting when he thought of her. Whatever made his heart ache when he imagined her falling alone in that colossus, with nobody there to help her… 

Link swallowed the lump in his throat as the doors cracked open slowly, realizing that Zelda had finished speaking with the king and was approaching once again.

“Ah Princess!” Sidon exclaimed cheerfully before toning it down once she saw the slightly sour look on Zelda’s face, “Is … everything quite alright?”

Zelda sighed. “Yes yes, everything is fine. But His Majesty recommended that we wait until tomorrow to make our way over to Vah Ruta.”

“Really, why?” Link prodded, his heart dropping a bit as the prospect of seeing his childhood friend slipped farther away.

“He says that he’ll need to gather a team to escort me to the Divine Beast, since the sheer cliffs can’t be scaled by Hylians.” She explained.

Link rolled his eyes.  _ I probably could,  _ he thought to himself.

“That is a shame.” Sidon frowned, shaking his head. “Still, I agree that it’s in our best interests to keep you as safe as possible.”

Zelda sighed. “I suppose. And I am quite-” Her words were interrupted by a sudden yawn, breaking through her proper demeanor. “Oh my … sleepy, I must admit. Perhaps I’ll take the remainder of the evening to rest from the road.”

Link glanced out the tall palace window as the sun began to set behind the cliffs of the domain. He supposed that it would be too late to get on the road now anyway. He sighed, accepting that it was best to wait as the Zora King had suggested.

“Well, I would be happy to see you to your rooms!” Sidon insisted, flashing that charismatic smile once again.

Zelda returned the sentiment. “Thank you, Prince Sidon. I do appreciate your hospitality.”

“Think nothing of it!” He replied, placing a hand on her back as he led them towards the guest quarters.

Link was about to follow, but a sound from outside caught his ear. A low, animalistic rumbling, coming from the direction of Vah Ruta. He glanced out the window, eying the Divine Beast once more. He felt a pinching in the back of his eyes, like something was trying to pry its way out.

_ Link … please come quickly … I need you … _

* * *

“I … I need you.”

Link stood in the halls of the palace in Zora’s Domain. The moon was bright– impossibly bright. Even in the dark of night, he could see clearly. He could see her.

“I-I don’t understand...” He stammered, feeling his heart quickening.

“I need you.” Mipha repeated, taking a step forward. “I need you … In every way possible, I need you, Link.”

“Mipha, I … I'm not sure what you mean, I’m sorry.” Link was lying. He knew exactly what she meant, but the fear still gripped him, unable to accept it.

“I love you.”

Link’s back went rigid while his skin pulled into tight gooseflesh at her words. He had known her for so long– had grown up with her– and he had never heard her speak that way to him before. She always seemed to have her walls up, safeguarding her heart, but not now. Not in this moment. 

Tonight, with only three days left until he and Zelda would make their way up to the Spring of Wisdom, he saw her for who she truly was. She bared her soul to him with just three little words, standing vulnerable before him with nothing to hide.

“Mipha, I can’t-”

“You can, please.” She interrupted, her soft voice seeming to issue a booming command in the silence of the darkened halls. “We are on the brink of annihilation, Link. At any moment, the world could be thrown into chaos, blackened by the burning evil of Calamity Ganon.” She stepped forward again, now only a few paces from him. “And I shall have you know that I am tired of hiding myself away, and putting on a brave face for my people.”

“Mipha-”

“I’m scared, Link.” She interrupted again, her voice shaking. “I’m scared of dying. I don’t want to leave my father, my little brother … my people.” She took a moment, a long breath drawing in and then out, “But, who I am most afraid of leaving ... Is you, Link.”

Link swallowed his pooling saliva with a gulp. “Mipha, we’re going to be fine. We have a plan, nobody is going to die.”

Mipha laughed silently. “Few things in life are certain. I believe in Princess Zelda. I believe that she will unlock her sealing powers. But belief will only take you so far.” Another step. “And for the rest, you must rely on yourself. On what you can do.” Another. Now she stood only a pace away from him, the both of them basking in the moonlight.

“And what I can do right now is tell you the truth. I love you. Link, I’ve always loved you.”

Link swallowed again, but found that his mouth was now dry as could be, like the desert sands. “W-Why are you telling me this? Why now?”

“In case I don’t get another chance.”

Link had never known her fear like this. She had always been so strong, so brave. He admired her for that. To see her like this broke his heart.

“So I must ask …” She continued, advancing towards him once again, the two of them inches apart. “Do you … love me, Link?”

Her face moved closer to his, and he gazed into her eyes, large amber pools of impossible depth. He had never noticed until that moment, but whenever she drew near to him, his heart couldn’t slow down. It felt as if it would burst from his chest as he moved closer as well, and then closer still, when suddenly …

They touched.

Link's stomach flipped as his lips collided with hers, locked together, as his arms reached around her waist to embrace her. He could hear a silent gasp escape her lips, as if pressure had been building within her ever since she had met him and it was all released at once. She gracefully deflated in his arms, and her hands clasped behind his neck, pulling him into their kiss.

It felt like every firework in Hyrule had gone off in Link’s mind. This felt right– it felt perfect. The two of them were perfect for one another. Every single memory that he shared with her was now tinged in a rosy glow, his love bleeding into every part of his life with her. Of course he loved her. There was not a doubt in his mind. And when Link pulled back, he was ready to commit himself to her. He was prepared to promise his life to her in that very second, a blinding clarity flooding his common sense.

He opened his eyes ... 

And Zelda stood before him.

“... W-What?” Link took a step back in shock. “P-Princess?”

“Link … why?”

He blinked his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

He immediately wished he hadn’t.

Mipha had returned, but her state caused Link’s stomach to turn over. She had been wounded by … something. Crimson flowed freely from a wound in her abdomen, her life blood pooling on the floor where she stood. She still bore a weak smile, but her eyes were lifeless as they pierced into his soul.

“Do you … love me, Link?” Her mouth moved, but the words were just as he had heard them before, the same cadence and tone.

“Oh no– no, no, no, no …” Link’s breathing became laboured, strained. He was filled with a fear unlike anything he’d experienced before. He stepped back once, twice, before turning on his heel to run.

But Zelda stood in his way once again.

“Do you love me, Link?” This time it was Zelda that spoke, her eyes filled with life but rife with sorrow.

“Wh-What?!” He turned back again. Mipha still stood before him, his eyes couldn't pull away from her gaping wound.

“Do you love me, Link?” Mipha repeated.

“Do you love me, Link?” Zelda echoed.

They spoke over and over on top of one another. Link dropped to the floor, his head tucked between his legs. The Hylian Champion could only clutch his head tightly, handfuls of dirty blonde hair filled his hands as he began to mutter to himself. “No, no, no … this isn’t happening, this is a dream … This can’t be happening … It can’t!” He tried to reason with himself.

“Oh, Link …” Mipha’s voice rang out from right above him. He dared to look up at his childhood friend.

“This has already happened.”

With those words, Link’s world was ripped asunder, the palace crumbling and falling into a dark void. The dead girl that he knew he loved and the princess that he could never love fell away with the walls of the palace, and with a cacophony of sound and noise enough to wake the dead …

* * *

Link shot up in bed with a start, gasping for air.

His waterbed jostled him around, sloshing quietly in the dark of his guest quarters. The air was still, the only other sound filling it being Link’s panicked breathing as he got his bearings. Soon his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the luminous stone sconces around the room. He glanced at the clock on the wall– 1:37am. 

As he gathered his bearings, his breathing slowed, his body relaxing. Just a nightmare. He was not a stranger to bad dreams. The broken memories that scattered his mind often tortured him in the night.

It was just a dream.

But he simply couldn’t remove that dream from his mind. It sat in the front of his consciousness, replaying over and over again. That night, that kiss … the memory that had reformed from fragments within his mind was now tainted by his own fractured psyche. Link gritted his teeth in frustration. He had half a mind to get dressed right now, grab his climbing gear, scale that damned plateau himself, board Vah Ruta, and–

Link sighed. He supposed a late-night walk would do just as well.

He got himself dressed, exiting his room with his hands tucked into his pockets. Link wandered the silver streets, taking in the sights that Zora’s Domain had to offer. The domain was quiet, as to be expected so late at night. Only a few guards were out this late, and they knew well enough to leave a man wandering at this hour alone.

Link kept his eyes on the ground, letting himself roam without much of a thought as to where he was going. So when he finally looked up to see himself before Mipha’s statue, he couldn’t help but laugh. Of course he would come here. He felt like he should say something, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything until Mipha herself was right before him.

“Can’t sleep?” Link jumped at the voice, turning to see Prince Sidon approaching. The prince wasn’t nearly as dressed up as Link was used to seeing him, only wearing his belt and pauldrons with no jewelry adorning his body. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Link sighed, waving it off. “Don’t even worry about it. What are you doing up this late? Doesn’t a prince need his beauty sleep?” He joked.

Sidon laughed, but Link could notice that his usual energy was missing. “No, no. I often find myself wandering the domain this late. Cappell calls it ‘insomnia’.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s fine. I enjoy being out this late.” Sidon joined him in front of Mipha’s statue, his arms folded across his chest, or perhaps he was simply holding himself together. 

The two friends sat in silence for a few minutes, taking in the form of one that they had cherished so dearly. It had been one hundred long years since she had left them, and the pain still felt so fresh like a wound that refused to heal properly, affecting them both until this day.

Sidon was the first to speak up, his eyes remaining forward. “Do you think that my sister is still in Vah Ruta?” His somber words hung in the air.

Link glanced over at him, eyeing him up before his eyes turned back to Mipha’s stone figure. “I do.” His voice was curt, “Do you?”

“I do.” Sidon flatly replied, “She has been coming to me in my dreams, asking me to help you. And every night I tell her that I will, but tonight … tonight she seemed desperate. As if she doesn’t have long left.” He lightly chuckled, looked down at his Hylian friend. “She loved you, you know? She loved you so much. She still does.”

Link could feel a heat behind his eyes. His mouth pulled into a thin smile, his eyes shutting tightly. “Yes … I know …” He could hold it back no longer and a single tear fell from his eye, dropping onto the edge of the statue’s base. 

Link knew in that moment that he was in good company. Sidon was the one person who Mipha trusted as much as he. Link straightened his back, dragging an arm across his face before turning to face the Zora Prince. “Sidon. Please take me to Vah Ruta.”

Sidon’s eyes grew wide. “Right now? Link, it’s the dead of night. And my father advised that the princess should be-”

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t about Zelda.” He cut him off, planting his hand on the statue’s base. “I’m … If Mipha’s spirit is truly still there, I need to talk with her, and … and it needs to be alone.” Link laughed under his breath, understanding what he was asking was ludicrous. He let his arm fall to his side, “Please, man. I need your help.”

Sidon furrowed his brow at his Hylian friend. Mipha had always been transparent to him regarding her affections to the chosen hero, but it wasn’t until that moment that he realized that perhaps those feelings were not entirely unrequited. He sighed. “Alright. But only because I am eternally indebted to you.”

Link released the breath that he didn’t even realize he was holding. “Goddess, thank you Sidon. This means the world to me.” He thanked him profusely, taking his massive hand into his own.

Sidon nodded. “Go on, get your things and I’ll get you up there. Meet me on the other side of the Great Zora Bridge in half an hour.”

“Thank you.” Link repeated, turning to run back to his room.

“And Link!” Sidon spoke up suddenly, causing Link to stop and turn to face him. “Be prepared to hold your breath.”

* * *

Link didn’t have to look hard for it. The armour sat at the bottom of his bag, unused since he set out with Sidon to stop a rampaging Vah Ruta and save Zora’s Domain from the torrential downpour. He had never needed to use it since, or perhaps it was too precious to him to risk scuffing it. At that moment, he truly didn’t know his reasons why.

The Zora scales suited him, he thought as he pulled the hood over his head, the nose guard of the helmet sitting flush with the bridge of his nose. He turned to view himself in the mirror. In the armour that Mipha crafted, he truly resembled one of the Zora. The helmet even gave him what looked like headfins on either side of his face and a tail hanging from the back. Perhaps that was what she envisioned when she crafted it with her own scales. Link ran his palm over the layered scales, admiring how they fit the curve of his chest and torso perfectly.

Yes, it was made for him, and him only. But Mipha never got the chance to give it to him as intended. The Zora King, who had held onto it for 100 years, had given it to him to aid in appeasing Vah Ruta. 

He recalled Muzu's visceral reaction to him being bequeathed the garment, as each generation's princess painstakingly handcrafted custom armour with their own scales for the one they swore to marry. So when he donned it to prove to him that he was the intended recipient, he witnessed the royal advisor explode in disbelief, anger, and straight up denial. Still to this day he was certain that Muzu still held contempt against him, just not outwardly. 

He grabbed the Master Sword, strapping it to his back for protection from any monsters that may be waiting in the night. He hurried out the room, shutting the door behind him cautiously, as to not make too much noise.

He stopped mid-step and turned to face the door to the room Zelda resided in. Against his better judgement, he stepped up to the door, his hand hovering over the handle. 

He didn't have time to waste.

Link wasn't sure what propelled him, but he opened it anyway, slowly, and just enough so he could peer inside.

There, with her back facing him, she slept peacefully, her golden hair splayed out over the pillows, blissfully unaware of the events of the night thus far. He could only imagine her mind was filled with scenes of a new peaceful era for Hyrule, with herself guiding her people towards a bright future. 

As he gazed upon her, he felt his heart swell and ache in the same way it had when Mipha had spoken those three precious words to him. He could recall multiple times in the last few weeks where he had felt like this. He knew that if he was to understand his feelings for Princess Zelda, he would need to see Mipha personally. Only then would he be able to face Zelda with a clear conscience.

He felt dread gripping his heart as he closed the door quietly, so as to not wake the princess. Why did he feel like he was betraying her? He felt rooted to the floor. Link knew that if he waited any longer, he would never be able to bring himself to go.

With a swift clap of his hands against his cheeks he turned on his heel and set off towards the Great Zora Bridge.

It wouldn't be long now. 


	4. Chapter 4

The water surrounding Vah Ruta rippled silently under its subtle movements, swaying slightly from side to side. It seemed uneasy, as if it was missing something that it needed for its basic survival. The moonlight was reflected off the rippling pool of water, cascading light across the outside of the pachydermic beast of science and magic.

The silence didn’t last long. Just then, a red Zora broke through the mirror-like surface of the lake, jetting high into the air, leaving a spout of water in his wake. The Hylian feverishly clinging onto his back gasped loudly for air. Link coughed and sputtered the water from his throat, cursing himself for opening his mouth before Sidon had fully emerged from the depths of the lake.

Earlier, when the two had convened on the far end of the bridge, the prince had explained that Vah Ruta’s current position was only accessible to Zora. Not for any sacred reason, but because the sheer cliffs had no feasible footholds that could bring a Hylian to the summit without succumbing to exhaustion or falling to one’s demise. There was, however, an underground tunnel that the Zora had used long before Ruta had made the plateau its home.

The tunnel was found directly underneath Luto’s Crossing at the bottom of the river.  _ Be ready to hold your breath.  _ Sidon’s words rang in his head, and he now understood what he had meant.

The swim through the long underground tunnel was nerve-wracking, to put it lightly.

Link had discovered on his travels that when he could find no observable entrance or exit, the idea of being trapped, or stuck, and unable to leave, it made his skin crawl. He wasn't sure if he was always like that, or if it was something he developed in response to being in that chamber for so long. 

So, to hold his breath and try to keep his eyes open against the torrent as Sidon sped them both through such a narrow cavern– all underwater no less– He was handling it… better than he expected.

Link scrambled to the shoreline as soon as they surfaced, thankful to be back on solid ground under the open sky, but dry heaving into the shallows from the stress of it all. “Oh goddess, dammit …” He moaned, covering his mouth with his hand and trying to steady his breathing which was threatening to spiral out of control. 

Sidon approached, taking a knee and placing a hand on his back. “I’m so sorry, my friend. Are you quite alright?” He asked, trying to give any sort of comfort he could muster. Hylians couldn't breathe under water at all, he knew this, and he also knew they could only hold their breath for 3 minutes at most, so he had made sure to get through as fast as possible.

“Y-Yeah I’m-” Link paused as a gag tried to worm its way up his throat, but quickly clasped his hand over his mouth again, managing to wrangle it back down his esophagus. “I’m … okay. It is what it is, y’know?” He knew well before Sidon dove into the water what he was getting into. No amount of claustrophobic nausea could keep him from being here. Even if it took being buried in a box underground he’d …

Link shuddered at the very idea. _ Actually  _ …  _ Never mind _ , He thought, rising to his feet as he wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

“There it is.” Link said, gazing back at the Divine Beast. Even as he stood, the two noticed that Vah Ruta was turning to look at them, having realized their entrance the moment they exited the tunnel from below. Vah Ruta looked down at them, seeming to recognize them instantly as it rumbled out a long, low tone which was loud enough to cause Sidon and Link to have to cover their ears. Sidon cringed, hoping that such a sound wouldn’t alert anybody to have to come check on them.

“Looks like you were right, Link.” Sidon spoke, his hands leaving his head and planting themselves on his hips, “It seems as if it  _ was _ waiting for us.”

The water crashed around the Vah Ruta’s legs as it made its way over to the shallows. Link stepped forward and put his hands out in front of him, as if he would somehow be able to calm the beast lest it get too close. They had nothing to fear, however, as the Divine Beast carefully lowered itself downward, first its front legs, then it's back, while its trunk extended to meet them in the shallows. It straightened, becoming a makeshift bridge up to the body of the colossus. Displaced water ran off the sides of the mountain to accommodate the sheer mass of the mechanical ungulate.

Link let out a sigh, knowing that it was him that was being beckoned into the belly of the beast. He turned to the Zora Prince with a smile. “I guess this is it, huh?” He asked, trying to settle his own anxious stomach more than anything else.

Sidon nodded, his eyes meeting with Link’s. “You go take care of her, you hear? I’ll wait here. Only Champions and all that, right?”

“Yeah.” Link spoke curtly. Ever so carefully, he extended his leg and took his first step onto Vah Ruta. He half-expected some sort of triumphant fanfare to come with it, but the only sound that greeted him was the distant whirring of Ruta’s inner machinations. He looked back at Sidon once more with a faint smile. “Wish me luck.”

Sidon said nothing, just a nod and a look in his eyes that conveyed all that Link needed.

Link took one last deep breath before running across the trunk of Vah Ruta, towards whatever– or whoever– may await him inside.

* * *

Link’s nerves were shot by the time he crossed the massive trunk of Vah Ruta. The entire way here he spent inside his own head, thinking about what had brought him to this and, praying to Hylia, that he had arrived in time.

Link had only been out of the chamber for about one or two months, he didn't know exactly as time itself seemed to elude him early on, when he arrived in Zora’s Domain and liberated Vah Ruta from Ganon’s clutches.

When he last gazed upon her spectral form, he could recall when Mipha realized that he didn’t remember any of it. He knew who she was– a princess, a champion, a sister– but not who she was  _ to him _ . Her forced smile did nothing to hide the pain in her eyes, and that stung worse than any wound that had ever afflicted him. He had tried; he wanted to remember! His subconscious had mashed pieces and fragments together to make up the closest semblance of who she was to him that he could muster. Link knew this would never be enough, not for him, not for her.

That was why he was here. He was here to set things straight, and to say a proper goodbye this time.

As long as he wasn't too late.

Link took a moment to survey his surroundings, reacquainting himself with the complex inner workings of the ancient creature. He couldn’t imagine how many people or how long it would have taken to complete such a massive machine, let alone to develop the technology that powered it. He found himself in the belly of the beast, the mysterious gears that powered its heart cranked non-stop, whirring with an unseen, unknowable force.

_ Link. _

Her voice called out in his mind again, reminding him of the purpose for his return. “Mipha?!” He called out now that she was feasibly close enough to hear him. He racked his mind trying to remember the control room location.

_ Link … Link … _

“Mipha, I’m coming!” He called out, his voice echoing off the walls. He continued on, exiting the engine room through a passage leading outside of the beast, and making his way down the sloped walkway to …

Link stopped in his tracks as he entered the control deck. Before him he could see the outline of the control room doorway, embedded into the wall on his left. A faint teal light emanated from inside, reflecting off the stone tile floor. 

For a moment, Link felt heavy– heavy with guilt, heavy with sorrow. Heavy with the burden of love for another who was so unceremoniously ripped from his life. For a moment, Link felt like he couldn't push himself through that doorway, forever unable to continue any further, unable to face the girl who had waited all this time. He felt he would stay rooted in place until his body succumbed, and this place would become his tomb, same as it was hers.

But only for a moment.

"Mipha, I’m …” His breath caught in his throat as he stood in the doorway and looked inside the control room.

“Here.”

There she was. The Zora Princess stood before the control center of the Divine Beast, the ethereal glow of her spirit completely illuminating the darkened hull of the ancient weapon. As she slowly turned to face him, Link felt his heart swell knowing what he knows now. 

Her eyes met with his across the room, a small gasp escaping her lips as she saw him. “It’s … it’s you.” Her voice was like the loudest whisper Link had ever heard, soft and quiet, but heard from the other side of the room with perfect clarity. 

“I wasn’t sure if you could hear me. I wasn’t sure... that you would come.” She admitted. She walked towards him, Link noting that every step caused no splash of the ankle-deep water, not even a noise. It was more of a suggestion of a step than anything as she approached him.

Link opened his mouth to speak but words escaped him. She looked the same as she did when he last stepped onto Vah Ruta almost a year ago. But with the memories he had regained and the new perspective which he viewed her with in that moment, he was gobsmacked by her form. Her beauty was just as he remembered it that night, the night they held each other and she confessed her love to him. Her amber eyes seemed to glow with life even though it had ended so long ago.

Mipha’s expression changed as she got close enough to see his face under the Zoran helmet he wore. Once he had worn a mask of bewildered amazement, but now that surprise was replaced with a deep sorrow, a pain that could not be healed the same way she had every other time he’d been hurt. “Oh Link … Look at you …” She spoke softly as she stepped towards him.

“M-M-Mipha, I … I–” Link stammered and he could feel a pressure building behind his eyes, a growing headache unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Every single moment that he could remember with her rushed back into his mind all at once. 

Mipha saw his distress and opened her mouth to comfort him, but not before Link spoke first.

“I remember. I remember everything." He stated breathlessly and his legs felt as if they would collapse under him, “I remember your love.” Link could feel that pressure building and building until finally … release. Tears billowed up in his eyes and spilled over, running down his cheeks in big, round drops. “I-I had forgotten. I can’t believe I forgot something so important.” Link soon realized his earlier suspicion of his legs was correct, as he soon found himself dropping to his knees in the shallow water.

Mipha brought a hand to her chest. She hurt for the young man falling apart before her. “You truly do remember, don’t you?”

“Th-That night …” Link started, breaking through the rapidly growing sobs in his chest. “That night you told me that you loved me. That you feared for your life and wanted to leave it with no regrets, but I was so scared." he admitted with a sad smile, "Scared of admitting to you what I'd known for so long. I couldn't face my own fears.” He chuckled softly at his own expense. "I am supposed to embody courage. And I couldn't even do that."

Mipha stood right above him now gazing down at the boy that she once loved– that she  _ still _ loved. She reached out to touch him, longing for contact with him after so long. “Oh Link, please, don't…” She pleaded, wanting to take away his pain.

“I couldn’t admit it.” Link continued, running his hand along the front of the Zora scale armour adorning his body. “B-But I know now! I know that you crafted this armour from your own scales. I know what that means, Mipha. And I-”

Link took a shaky breath.

“I know in my heart that I’ve always felt the same.”

Mipha’s eyes went wide. “That night, you never said it ...”

“Goddess, I know, but I am here now. And I’m saying it.” Link’s head snapped up to meet her eyes. His eyes burned so blue in the light of her spirit. “I love you, Mipha. I always have. I was a fool to ever think you were anything less to me.”

Mipha spied the tremble of his lower lip before he hung his head down once again, unable to look at her. 

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I failed you that night, a-and I should’ve been able to say what I felt. But I failed you in every possible way, and … dammit!" He hit the watery floor with a fist before dropping his voice to barely a whisper. "I’m so … so sorry, Mipha …” He was unable to hold back his sobs, unable to look at her, he simply knelt before her, desperately hoping for penance for not returning her affections all those years ago.

Mipha didn’t know what to say. She had expected Link to arrive and she would tell him all about that night, but here he was, baring his soul to her in a way that he never had one hundred years ago. Link watched as she silently lowered herself to her knees before him, the glow of her spirit fading until it was as though she was flesh and bone again. Her hand reached out to him and as it reached his face, he could feel her warmth against his tear-stained cheeks. He looked up at her, and she looked back at him before she spoke.

“My dear Link, my one love," Her voice was like vanilla cake, sweet and light like air. “I have always known. From the moment I met you, to the moment I fell in this very room, I’ve always felt your love. I’ve felt it in your eyes every time you looked my way." She ran a hand up under his helmet and pulled it back and off his deep blond crown to let it lay slack against his back, bunching at the base of his neck. "And I’ll have you know that I never needed you to love me back.” 

Link’s eyes grew wide at her words. 

Mipha shone a sad smile as she thumbed under his eyes and over his cheeks, relishing in the physicality of their touch. Her words rang true, however. “All I ever wanted was to love you. Nothing less, nothing more. To see you thrive, and to live, and to … to love. Even if it wasn’t me you loved.”

“But it  _ is _ you. It’s  _ always _ been you.” Link interjected, his hand clasping around Mipha’s as she wiped the tears from his eyes.

“But it can no longer be. My time is at an end, Link. I don’t have long, and I will not see you locked in the despair of loving a dead girl.” She spoke sternly, but kindly. “I see it in your eyes. There is somebody you love. Somebody in the living, waking world, out there.” She nodded her head towards the outside.

“But Mipha, I can’t lose you. I-I just got you back. I just got your love back, you can’t-”

He was unable to finish as Mipha had snaked a hand behind his head and pulled him towards her. Their lips collided, silencing the grieving man she loved dearly. A familiar and warm sensation washed over Link as he kissed Mipha sweetly for the last time. 

It was difficult to pull away, and he wished it wasn't necessary to do so. He couldn't stay here with her forever, so Link drank in her image, knowing that tonight would be his last chance. “I love you, Mipha. And I always will.”

“And I love you. And as you live your life, my Grace will watch over you and protect you. Just as I did. You shall never be alone, Link. I want you to know that.” She spoke softly, her head pressed to his, her hand drifting down to the scaled armour fitted against his chest. His heartbeat fluttered in her finger tips.

“I do. I’ll never forget. Never again. I promise.” Link let his eyes close and he leaned into her hand against his face, addicted to the feeling of her against his skin even if it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Just being in her presence warmed his soul. That cold emptiness that he felt as he journeyed across the vast expanses of Hyrule was gone when he was with her. She was like a flame in the dark lighting his way, a cold drink in the heat of the desert, the wind in his sails carrying him ever onward. There was only one other person that could ever make him feel this way, full of joy and comfort and purpose ...

“Hello? Link? Link!”

Link and Mipha both pulled back from one another as the frantic voice rang throughout the body of Vah Ruta– the voice of the Princess of Hyrule. 

“Zelda …” Link whispered, suddenly clued back to the reality of the situation. Why was she here?  _ How _ was she here? He glanced back at Mipha, and a feeling of betrayal began to creep into his stomach like he wasn’t supposed to be here. Whoever’s trust he was betraying hadn’t caught up with him yet, but Mipha’s warm expression and soft eyes were enough to put him at ease.

“It’s fine.” She assured him, delicately wiping away what was left of his tears. “It is done. I’ve said everything that needed to be said, expended every last truth. I needed her here anyway.” Mipha rose to her feet, offering her hand to help Link to his feet. “Come, there is more that we must discuss.”

Link let out a resigned sigh before taking her hand and pulling himself to his feet. She was right. There was more than just his personal feelings at stake here. 

He hesitated to let Mipha's hand go, afraid that she'd disappear the moment he looked away, but she urged him with a look in her eyes he couldn't oppose. "We– I'm in here!” He called out, letting Mipha's fingers fall through his own as he turned to exit the control room.

When he saw her, he immediately remembered who he was dealing with. Zelda stood on the walkway, making angry triangles with her arms, hands on her hips and out of breath with furious pout on her face. She was sopping wet with her hair plastered to her skin by the water, and Link immediately knew that she had most likely travelled through the same underwater channel that he had.

“Uh … hey, Princess.” He spoke submissively with a metaphorical tail between his legs.

“Don’t you dare ‘Hey, Princess’ me!” She shouted, limping angrily towards her stupid, stupid knight. “Why would you leave in the middle of the night and board Vah Ruta without me?! I had to wrangle Bazz from his bed and have him escort me here in the middle of the night because of you!”

Link held his hands up, trying to calm the crossed princess down like an agitated beast in the wilds. “N-Now, hold on, just let me explain and I can-”

“What  _ possible _ reason could you give me that could  _ ever _ explain why you’d go behind my back like this? Did you think that I  _ wouldn’t _ hear that ungodly noise it made? It probably woke up all of the domain!”

“Princess, please just listen and I can-”

“Do you even understand what you’ve done? King Dorephan requested that we wait until morning! I understand that you’ve been out here in the wilds for a long time, but I know you know what rules are, Link!”

“Zelda, I can-”

“Give me  _ one _ good reason, I swear on Farore-” Zelda suddenly stopped yelling at him and Link could see her looking behind him before uttering one simple word.

“... M-Mipha?”

Link followed her gaze and saw Mipha’s spirit standing in the door to meet them wearing that same sad smile. “Hello, Princess. It has been so long, hasn’t it?”

Zelda swallowed a sob in her throat, completely forgetting all the chaos that had been caused by Link’s negligence as she approached her long-lost friend. “Hylia above, it's really you, isn't it?”

Link could see Zelda was having trouble holding it together, but didn’t interfere, instead he simply stepped out of the way for her. This was not his emotional battle to fight. She had her own guilt to bear, guilt that could only be healed through this very meeting.

Zelda crumbled under the weight of that guilt as it came crashing down around her, surrendering to her emotions as it brought her to her hands and knees before the spirit. “Great Goddesses above, Mipha– I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Zelda pleaded, huge tears pooling in the corners of her eyes before collectively falling to the stone floor below her. “I-I wasn’t strong enough, I wasn’t– It wasn't supposed to be this way… I couldn’t save you– I left you to die! I failed you, I failed your people, I failed–”

Zelda gasped as she felt Mipha’s hand upon her shoulder. She looked up to see Mipha’s soft features, beaming kindly down at her. “Oh Princess, you must stop such nonsense.”

“B-But-”

“I’ll have none of it.” She interjected, holding a hand up to silence her, “You have no reason to be sorry. I understood the risks that came with the job, Princess Zelda. I may seem like a delicate flower, but I was a Zora warrior right up until the end. I protected my people. To fall doing something so noble is nothing short of a perfect end to my life. My father, my brother, and all of my people lived because of my sacrifice. This is what was meant to happen." 

Before Zelda could retort Mipha added, "Nothing else, nothing more.”

Zelda sat back on her knees, her head hanging once again, damp locks of blond hair covering her face, as she tried to stifle her tears. “But it hurts so much, Mipha. It feels as if this pain is consuming me, day and night.”

“I know, Princess. I know.” Mipha sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her to comfort her. “But there is much to be done. Hyrule must heal, and for that to happen, you must allow yourself to hurt. To hurt, and to heal. That was my profession one hundred years ago. Now, within your own heart, that is what you must do.”

Zelda’s head lifted once again to meet her eyes. She couldn’t believe Mipha sat before her. It was as if she was flesh and bone, but knowing the reality, it hurt all the same. “I miss you. I miss you all.”

“And I, you.” Mipha assured her, pulling her close and resting Zelda’s head upon her shoulder and allowed her to cry, to release that grief as much as she wanted. To heal her. With her Grace passed on to Link, that was as much as she could give her in that moment. 

As they sat, Mipha glanced back at Link. He stood silently and respectfully away from them, just as he had in formal meetings one hundred years ago. However, something in his eyes had changed. When Link looked at his princess, Mipha did not see a noble knight protecting his charge with the obligation of duty. No, she saw something much more than that. His eyes held a sorrow to see her in such a state, to see Zelda suffering in such an unpreventable way. His expression and his body language were all different.

And at that moment it all clicked.

_ Oh.  _ Mipha thought, looking back down at Zelda with a knowing smile, her face buried in her shoulder as her crying began to fade.

_ It’s her. _

Zelda raised her head, wiping her red and puffy eyes with a weak smile. “It … It truly is good to see you again.”

Mipha giggled airily behind her fingers, “I was just thinking the same thing.” She rose to her feet, offering a hand to Zelda to do the same. Once the tone had shifted, Mipha gladly turned back to face Link. “Now then, I’m sorry to gather you both here so late, but as you may have guessed, I don’t have much time left and there’s much to discuss.”

“Y-Yes, of course.” Zelda recomposed herself, sniffling once in a unprincess-like fashion before standing up straight. “So, what is happening with Vah Ruta? Have you been the one piloting it this whole time, making it act so erratically?”

Mipha chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I have. As you may have guessed, I’m unable to leave Vah Ruta in a tangible sense. In this form, I can see and view most places in Hyrule, but I’m unable to travel anywhere outside of my Divine Beast. I have been trying to get people’s attention, all this time. Quite frankly, I’m relieved almost all of you are here.”

“But why? Why are you still tied to Vah Ruta?” Link asked, his arms crossed. “I thought that I had freed you when I killed the Blight that had taken control of it.”

Mipha nodded. “Yes, you did. And I am eternally thankful. However, once Calamity Ganon was defeated and my job was done, I realized that Vah Ruta … needed something. I could not leave her without it.”

“Needed something?” Zelda asked, her curiosity peaking, “I knew that the Divine Beasts held some level of consciousness but wants and needs were not something that I expected.”

“Yes, it’s something that we may not have accounted for before the Calamity.” Mipha explained, “She requires a pilot. When I tried to allow my spirit to pass on, Vah Ruta became … agitated– to say the least. I believe that Vah Ruta may become unstable if she is left without a Champion to guide it. I have tried to calm her, but to no avail. It seems my life force is too weak in this state to command her to rest." The late Champion reached out with concern and touched the wall of her beast. "I do not have much time left, you see, and I worry that when I disappear, she may lose control.”

“Oh no …” Zelda brought a knuckle up to her mouth, thinking deeply. “How much time do we have?”

Mipha’s mouth pulled into a tight smile. “Unfortunately, not much at all. Even as I stand here before you, I feel myself being … pulled back towards the afterlife.”

She saw Link’s hand at his side ball up tightly at such dreadful news, but his expression was undaunted. He knew what had to come.

“Oh my … w-well then, what can we do?!” Zelda’s voice was a tad panicked, but was quickly calmed by Mipha’s cool demeanor, raising a hand to pacify her fears.

“I would not worry.” Mipha assured her, “Tonight’s events were all orchestrated by me. My other attempts at getting your attention were unsuccessful, so I used all the power I had to project a vision to both of you.”

Link nodded. That did explain his dreams that night.

Zelda, on the other hand, was now more confused. “... But, Mipha, I didn’t get any dreams. I was sound asleep until just recently.”

Mipha shook her head. “There is still one guest we are waiting for.”

Zelda shot her another look of confusion.

Mipha smiled. “I sent a vision to Link, but I also sent a message to-”

“Mipha!”

Another surprise voice interrupted her, and when the trio turned, they saw the Zora prince standing at the top of the sloped walkway, out of breath and smiling wildly. “I knew it was you! Truly, I knew it!”

Mipha laughed at the sight of her brother, only a guppy when she departed the mortal plane, now he towered over her like a Lynel! “Little brother, you certainly are a sight for sore eyes!” She sang out as she strode forward to meet him before being swept up in one of his swinging hugs, the two siblings laughing all the while.

“Oh Mipha, this is a glorious day! Well, a glorious night, I suppose, but still!” He cheered, finally setting her back down on the floor. “Even if it’s for only a little while, I’m happy to meet you and accept this duty with open arms!”

“Duty?” Link asked, not being one to want to be left out of the loop. “What do you mean by that?”

Sidon glanced over at Link, a bit confused himself. “Have you not told them yet?” He asked his sister.

“I was getting to it!” She responded with a light fist to his side before turning back to her Hylian guests. “As I said, Divine Beast Vah Ruta requires a new pilot to replace me. And personally, I can think of nobody better to carry the title of Zora Champion than Prince Sidon.” She beamed up at her not-so-little brother, who matched her smile with his own.

Zelda suddenly realized that Sidon was standing upon the Divine Beast, something that only a Champion or somebody with royal blood could do. “My goodness, what a development!” She retrieved the Sheikah Slate from her hip, wiping the water off the screen before observing Ruta’s lifelines. “It’s true, I can see it here! Just like all those years ago, Vah Ruta is bonding to another Champion just like before! How exciting! How-” Zelda looked up and her stomach dropped to the floor when she saw that Mipha’s body was beginning to fade.

“M-Mipha!” Link exclaimed, beginning to approach before Mipha outstretched her hand to stop him.

“I-It’s … okay.” She clenched her eyes shut, exerting as much force as she could to remain there with them. Soon enough, her form became solid once again, buying her just a bit more time, but she appeared winded. “Hah … I’m sorry, I … I do believe that Vah Ruta agrees. She has accepted Sidon as worthy to take up the mantle as Champion of the Zora. And because of that …” She stopped again, holding a hand to her chest as she slowed her breathing, “Because of that … it seems like my ties to Vah Ruta will soon be broken as I pass on the burden to my brother. I don’t have much time.” 

Mipha sighed, clearing her throat. “Still, I have no regrets. This is what must be done when a Champion passes away in such a manner. All is as it should be.”

“Wait …” Zelda interrupted, her mind racing at this news. “If that’s the case, what’s to say that the other Divine Beasts aren’t in the same situation?”

Link’s eyes went wide as he imagined having to stop a Divine Beast that had gone berserk in a way that Mipha had described. “That is a possibility, isn’t it?” He asked, turning to Mipha for answers.

Mipha nodded. “Without a doubt, the Champions are most likely still tied to their Divine Beasts just as I was. I do not doubt that they have attempted to signal to their chosen successors to accept the call, but if they aren’t able to contact them …” Mipha’s mouth pulled tight, a worried grimace spread across her face.

Zelda furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. If the Divine Beasts posed a threat to Hyrule and her people, she could only draw one conclusion. “Then Link and I will simply have to seek out the Divine Beasts and discover the new pilots for each.” She proclaimed, catching the attention of everyone in the room. “We had work to do either way in each province. And, if we are to appoint new Champions, then the new Hyrule Kingdom will be giving them the respect they deserve.” Sidon puffed out his chest with pride as she spoke.

Link only nodded in response. There was never a question. Wherever Zelda went, he would follow. It was as easy a decision as breathing, it was second nature.

Mipha smiled, watching the way he looked at her. She wondered if he even knew it himself, but knew she didn’t have time to explain it to him, and she lamented the fact. He always was a bit slow when it came to his own emotions, happy to put off those in which he did not fully understand, and usually needed somebody to spell it out for him.

She supposed he’d be alright. He’d have to be.

Mipha brought a hand to her chest again and grabbed onto the railing of the walkway, feeling a pulling sensation that just wouldn’t seem to stop. She didn’t have much longer. “I’m sorry, I … I believe that my time may be up.”

The tone grew somber once again, casting a grim shadow over the group, everybody knowing that this would be the last time they would ever speak to Mipha ever again. Nobody felt ready for her to leave. Even though they had been given one hundred years to prepare, nobody was ready for it. 

Sidon was the first to act. He put himself before her, kneeling and taking her hand in his. “I shall have you know, my dear sister, that even though we were only together for a short time, not a day goes by in which I do not think fondly of you. After all, there would be no Zora Prince without the Zora Princess that taught him to have a heart as lovely as she.” Sidon brought his palm to his chest.

Mipha smiled sadly, reaching up and pulling his head in to kiss him gently on the crest of his forehead. “I love you so much, my dear brother, my dear little Sidon. You shall make the people of Zora’s Domain so proud.”

Sidon nodded, whispering a thank you for her ears only before stepping back, having said all he needed to. He would not shed a tear for a reunion so grand and wonderful. He would only wish that he could have seen her sooner.

As he moved away, Zelda replaced him. She thought of something to say, anything that would fix the horrible fate that Mipha had been exposed to. But then, she remembered Mipha’s own words. To hurt and to heal. That was her job now. For herself, and for her broken kingdom to heal. So instead, she threw her arms around her, pulling her into a warm and tight embrace as she shrugged off every rule of politeness that had been hammered into her her whole life. “I’ll miss you, Mipha. You’ll never, ever be forgotten. I'll make sure of it.”

Mipha hummed, nodding along with her words. “I know, Princess. You take care of yourself.” She instructed her, gazing over at Link who watched them with anxious eyes. “Just know that while your heart heals, you have Hyrule's most exceptional man to protect it.”

Zelda pulled back, looking over in Link’s direction with a smile. “I suppose I do, don’t I?” She said quietly, hesitantly letting go of her friend and going to join Sidon by his side.

As Link approached, Mipha could feel herself beginning to fade. She knew that she had no more than a minute left and as she looked to the floor, the very feet she stood on were starting to fade. She looked up at Link, the fear of what was yet to come evident in her eyes until they met with his. He beamed at her, holding onto her hands gently. 

“I suppose this is it, huh?” Link saw the look in her eyes and frowned, before pulling her in close. “Don’t you worry about us, okay? We’re gonna be fine.”

Mipha chuckled and she brought her hands up to his chest, fingers tracing the scales she spent so long putting together for him. “Oh, I’m not concerned about any of you, no. There is not a doubt in my mind that you all will be okay. It's just …” Mipha let her head fall against his chest and let out a wavering sigh. “I’m just going to miss you all so  _ much _ .” Her delicate voice broke on the last word.

“I won’t.” Link smirked down at her as she looked up at him in brief distress. “It’s just like you said. You’ll always be with me, right? Looking after me with your Grace?” He leaned his head down to hers, thinking about how she seemed so small in his arms. “And thank you … for everything.”

Mipha nodded, and with that the flood gates broke. Tears streamed steadily down her cheeks, but she would not let out a sob, not at such an important moment. “Goodbye, my love.” Her words came out shakily, trying her best to hold it together as she began to fade from this world. She felt the sensation of her limbs going numb, one after the other until the numbness simply became nothingness. She had only one moment when fear gripped her and she felt that same stranglehold of anxiousness. Where she felt the terror of becoming nothing …

But then she looked into those eyes– those vastly deep and amazingly blue eyes– and all her worries vanished like a dewy fog in the morning sunshine. As if all her fears were simply a bad dream, and he had awoken her soul itself… Or perhaps, he was simply just brave enough for the both of them. 

And then she was gone, and the only evidence that she had ever stood before him was the echo of her voice within his mind.

_ Goodbye, my love. _

Link bit down on his lip as she vanished from this world– from his arms– turning into something akin to the dust from fairies of the forest. He slowly tilted his chin down, seeing his arms empty, fingers twitching in the vacancy she left behind. Her absence seemed heavier in comparison.

Zelda wanted to say something–  _ anything _ to help her dearest friend. But she knew that this was a journey he would need to travel alone, though she vehemently believed he had done enough of that! But as Mipha had said, his grief was his, and his alone, to battle. Nothing she could say to him would heal that wound. Only time.

The three stood upon the Divine Beast, now under the control of Prince Sidon, simply allowing themselves to process the departure of dear Mipha– a Champion, a friend, a sister, a lover. 

It was bittersweet, but as Link gazed up at the moon, shimmering brightly in the night above, he reminded himself that this heartache wouldn't last forever and that he would never have to  _ truly _ say goodbye to his love. He would persevere knowing that one day he too would join her in the warm embrace of the Goddess Hylia.

Link smiled, he could live with that.

* * *

King Dorephan leaned back in his chair, letting out a long, throaty laugh as the princess finished her story. “Goodness me! I have never been so overjoyed to hear about a violation of a direct from the king, I assure you!” He boomed, taking a moment to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.

In the morning afterwards, Link, Zelda, Sidon and Bazz– the Zora royal guard captain who escorted the princess up to Vah Ruta– had some explaining to do to King Dorephan of the Zora. 

See, he had also been woken from his kingly slumber that night, as did most of the people of the domain, to find Vah Ruta stirring up quite a fuss. When guards reported that his son, his royal guests, and his guard captain were unaccounted for, he prayed they better have a good reason for causing such a disturbance.

When they had returned, Bazz had bravely volunteered to explain everything to the Zora King and allowed everyone else to stay back in their rooms while he 'dealt with the worst of it'. The fact remained that they had still been invited to a celebratory lunch feast hosted by Dorephan himself, so the prospect of sneaking away with no repercussions was not going to be a possibility.

Luckily, Bazz had indeed softened the blow quite a bit. Dorephan had given him quite an earful that night, but with all of his anger out of his system, he had given Zelda the time to explain what happened.

The king was enraptured by the tale, to no surprise to Sidon. He had always known his father to be a romantic. He loved stories of years past, and found himself caught up in the nostalgia of simpler times. So, much to Zelda’s surprise, Dorephan felt himself being moved to tears by the story of Mipha's spirit hanging back for them, and then, in her final moments, passing on the title of Champion to her noble and brave younger brother. It was like something out of a fairy tale, to quote the king himself.

Zelda smiled sheepishly before the king, who towered next to her like a building, as he dug into another fish kebab. “Again, I am truly sorry for our impudence. It was not in our best judgement to barge into such an important and sacred place, and we would have never dreamt of doing something so rash if the circumstances had been different.”

Dorephan waved her off, swallowing a healthy helping of salmon before speaking. “Come now, Princess. I knew you meant no ill will, and I bear no anger toward you. I am overjoyed to hear that my daughter is well, and even more so to hear that Sidon will be taking up her noble title!” His son sat up straight and flashed a smile at being mentioned.

He sighed, sitting back in his chair. “Trust me, the only anger I hold is with foolish guard captains not informing their king before they violate such an order.” He insisted before shooting a nasty look at Bazz, sitting directly next to Sidon.

Bazz gave the king a nervous smile, before shrinking back and hiding himself behind the Prince, knowing that he was going to be worked to the bone for this. Sidon laughed, patting his good friend on the back. “I’ll put in a good word for you, I promise.” He whispered. Bazz chuckled sarcastically, that would do him no good.

“But alas, that is not what this banquet is about, is it?” Dorephan spoke, slowly rising from his chair and raising his glass. The room grew silent as the massive Zora King prepared to address the room. “Ladies and gentleman, as you know, we have a very special and distinguished guest joining us tonight! The Princess Zelda of Hyrule has returned," he ushered the Hylian Princess to stand and paused to allow his people to applaud. "I wish to propose a toast not only to her …” He turned towards his son, sitting directly next to him. “But to my son, Prince Sidon, who has been bestowed a mighty title by the princess herself." He shall become the next Zora Champion of the kingdom of Hyrule!” 

There was more applause as Sidon bashfully waved to the people and bowed his head respectfully. Zelda giggled, feeling herself being swept up in the drama of it all. A new Champion … the concept boggled the mind! The Champions of old were selected in a frenzy, gathered to save Hyrule from the exponentially encroaching threat of complete annihilation. Now, the title of Champion would be reborn– not in the shadow of fear, but in the absence of it. To gather those around the country who would seek to have Hyrule not suffer in terror, but protect its continued peace and prosperity. 

That’s what the New Champions would stand for.

Zelda smiled, she could live with that.

* * *

“So, do you think it went well?” Zelda asked Sidon as he escorted both herself and Link to the Great Zora Bridge. They now had packs stocked full of fresh fish and other foodstuffs, as well as medicine for Zelda’s ankle, in preparation for the journey up towards Death Mountain. The mighty volcano was home to a race of rock people, the Goron, and also their first stop on a kingdom-wide journey to find and appoint a band of New Champions.

“Yes, yes I do.” Sidon assured her with a nod. “It was a bit shaky for a bit. I think my people have been burned once before with this experience.” He chuckled lightly, “But explaining it as less of a ‘force to defeat evil’ and more of a ‘legion of protection for Hyrule’s continued healing’? Oh, they simply loved that part!”

Zelda swelled in pride, “So you’ll be sure to look out for our message, right?” She asked, readjusting her bag on her shoulder, “Link had nothing but praise for Mr. Bolson, so I’m hoping that repairs on the castle will be far enough along that we’ll be able to have you and the others in the Castle for a ceremony to make it official by the end of the spring. ”

Sidon nodded, still smiling at the prospect of his new title. “But of course! I’ll be anxiously waiting for your letter, rest assured!” He proclaimed, fist pumping in the air as he shot her another flashy smile. 

“Alright loverboy, tone it down.” Link scoffed playfully as he rolled his eyes, moving forward between the two royals. “Shall we go, Princess? The road awaits. We could make it to the next stable by midnight.”

“Ah, more night travel. Just what I need.” Zelda jested sarcastically, looking upwards at the late afternoon sky to get a judge for the time with a sigh. “I suppose we’ll just have to  _ hop _ to it then, shall we?” The princess jumped forward with a jovial laugh, taking long strides across the stone bridge.

“H-Hey, hold on!” Link groaned, then turned back to Sidon once more. “I’ll see you around, man. And… thanks.”

“Anytime, old friend.” Sidon waved him off, standing by the gate as he watched them go.

Link went to catch up to the princess, who had already started going on about what her plans were when she reached Death Mountain. This was going to be a long trip, much longer than if he was going by himself. He would have to remain diligent in regard to the Princess's safety, who had already shown reckless abandon to her own well-being. He wasn't too far into his own head when he heard a faint voice in the wind that blew past the two destined youth

_ … Link … _

He turned to face it, but only saw Vah Ruta, perched in its place on that same plateau in the distance, watching over the Lanayru province. He sighed, taking a moment to catch its beauty in the afternoon sun. 

A smile found its way into his cheeks, knowing that Hyrule and Zora’s Domain would be in good hands, should the worst happen.

“Princess, could you please just wait for me?” He called after her, running to catch up before she was out of sight.


	5. Chapter 5

The hero and his princess left the Zora’s Domain after their successful reunion with the Zoran royals. They had been on the road for several hours now, and the sun had just dipped completely behind the cliffs of the Hebra region. Zelda had stopped at the crossroads just after crossing the Inogo Bridge, directly next to a small clearing on the side of the road. The grass was worn away in this particular spot, with a fallen log acting as a bench and a worn cast iron pan sitting above a charred pile of wood, evidence of a fire which had long since gone out.

“Um … Link?” Zelda, holding the front of the Sheikah Slate against her middle, turned back to her knight who was a few paces behind her.

He looked up, his brow raised quizzically. “Yeah, what’s up?” He asked. She had always been a quiet traveller, even before the fall of Hyrule, mostly keeping her nose in the screen of the Sheikah Slate.

“I am a bit ...” She cleared her throat. “Famished.” Zelda seemed embarrassed. “I was wondering if it would be okay to stop for a spell to prepare some food, perhaps? I do admit, maybe I should have been a  _ bit _ less polite during King Dorephan’s lunch.” She asked with a nervous giggle, hoping that he wouldn’t mind.

Link hummed in thought, glancing over to the abandoned camp to their right. “I suppose it should be fine. We’re making great time anyway.” He nodded in agreement before swinging his bag over his shoulder and onto the ground. He began to rummage through to the bottom to reach his assortment of ingredients, kept chilled with white Chu Jelly.

“Oh, thank you so much.” Zelda sighed with relief, walking over to the fallen log in the camp and letting herself sit for the first time in hours. She reached into her own bag and retrieved the salve that Cappell had given her before pulling the boot off her afflicted foot. She uncorked the bottle and let some of the mixture out onto her sprain, marvelling at how quickly the pain nearly disappeared completely.

Link approached the camp with a bundle of mushrooms and vegetables, and, neatly wrapped in parchment, a selection of cuts of trout, gifted from the Zora King himself. He set his weapons and shield down by the campfire with a heavy clang, and began to build a new campfire on top of the old one.

Zelda grunted as she slipped her boot back over her swollen ankle. “So, what’s on the menu?” She asked, pulling her legs in close and wrapping her arms around her knees for warmth.

“Skewers.” He responded, sighing happily as the fire finally began to burn after a few hits against his flint. “Trout and mushroom skewers to be exact. I want to try out some of the goodies the king gave us. Plus, the skewers we can eat while we walk.” 

Zelda watched him with a smile, her head resting in her palm. “You know, it would do you some good to sit and eat every once in a while. You don’t always have to be on the go.”

Link cocked his head, chewing on her words for a moment with a click of his tongue. “I mean, yeah, you could be right, but I suppose that life out here sort of changes how you do things.” He explained as he got onto his hands and knees. He blew right into the heart of the fire, trying to breathe the life into the hot coals he would need to cook.

“Really? How so?” She asked, leaning in intently.

Link's ears twitched from being suddenly put on the spot. “Well …” he started, trying to gather the right string of words for her as he sat by the fire, which had now finally started to pick up. “Meals– for one. Out here, you sort of forget about breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” He explained, pouring a good amount of oil into the well used pan perched above his modest fire. “I mostly eat on the road, don’t have time to do otherwise, and it’s more like … I just eat when I’m hungry. No need to wait until some arbitrary time of day to eat.” He finished, picking up a thick cut of trout from the bundle, laying it carefully into the heated pan with a satisfying sizzle.

Zelda listened closely to his words, her analytic mind taking in everything he told her with an eagerness that even she was surprised with. “I see. Anything else?”

Link thought for a moment as he tossed a healthy helping of Hylian mushrooms into the pan. “Sleep, I suppose. Until I saved you my sleep schedule was … Well it was rough, to say the very least.” He paused to carefully season the fish with his own personal herb and spice mix, which Link kept in a small pouch for just such an occasion. “For a good while, I found myself only travelling at night and sleeping in the day.”

The princess nodded along with him, taking in what he said as she watched him flip the fish, now golden brown on the underside. “You certainly have found yourself in a world of your own, haven’t you?”

“Well, not all the time.” He spoke, retrieving thin wooden skewers from his bundle, most likely he whittled them himself. “Even out here, away from everyone, I still had little things that reminded me of … Well, what normal would be like, I suppose.”

“And what might that be?” Zelda asked, her head cocked inquisitively. 

Link chuckled, carefully sliding one of the mushrooms onto his skewer. “Memories.” He spoke simply, purposefully not going into any detail.

“Memories? Of what?” She pressed him. He had clearly piqued her interest.

“Well …” Link spent a moment in thought as he expertly ran the trout through, before admitting quietly, “You, mostly.”

Zelda was jostled by the information that she just received, sitting up straight. She felt her face flush red as he smirked back up at her from under his brows. “M-Me? What on earth do you-”

“Excuse me … Hello?” A voice of a young woman sounded off from in the darkness, drawing the attention of both the Hylians. 

Link reacted immediately, getting to his feet and grabbing onto the handle of the Master Sword, sticking his other hand out towards the dark to try and dissuade the voice from approaching any further.

“Who goes there?!” He yelled out towards the trail, only slightly visible from the campsite. The voice responded immediately.

“I-I’ve just been walking for so long, and I saw your campfire and I was wondering if I could j-”

“Out of the question, I’m sorry.” Link’s kind demeanor fell away, and a heedful callousness replaced it in no time. 

“Link!” Zelda gasped, not believing that he would act in such a way.

“Look, I understand," he called to the darkness. "But Zora’s Domain is just a couple hours away. I’m sure if you go now, you’ll be fine.” Link gripped the sword tightly, ready to strike whenever need be.

“P-Please, I'm chilled to the bone!” The voice pleaded, sounding more desperate now. “I just need a … a warm fire and perhaps a bit of food, please!”

“Link, for Goddess sake.” Zelda growled at him, “She’s exhausted, can't you hear it in her voice?”

“You don’t know what it’s like out here.” Link insisted, speaking low and only to her, trying to make her understand. “I’m not trying to be cruel, I just-”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Zelda insisted further, “And if anything happens, you’ll be here to protect us, right? There’s nothing you can’t handle.”

Link’s lips pulled tight as his gaze met the ground. He remembered he acted much the same when he first left the Great Plateau, his walls up and defenses high. He hadn’t known what to expect from the scarred and battle worn lands of Hyrule that awaited him. However, he had found himself at the mercy of a stranger’s kindness on many occasions, which had allowed him to lower his guard around his fellow travelers on the road. Out here, they were all brothers in arms against the elements. So to see himself acting like this now ... Perhaps it was only because he now had another to protect, to keep safe.

Link swallowed then sighed. “Fine.” He let go of the sword reluctantly, allowing himself to relax. “... Alright, come on over.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!” The girl ran from the shadows and into the light of the fire. She looked rather ordinary, with hazel colored eyes and dark brown hair cut to her shoulders. Adorned in simple Hylian travel clothes, Link noticed she wasn't visibly armed, and was traveling rather lightly– only a single drawstring bag. She was young, about the same age as the two Hylian travellers. 

"I don't have much to offer in return ..." The lone traveler trailed off as she started to rifle through her pack.

“Oh please, there’s no need for that.” Zelda’s words dripped with the polite mannerisms that had been hammered into her as a young girl, trying to make up for Link’s earlier rudeness. “Please, come and sit!” Zelda spoke cheerfully, patting the space on the log next to her.

Link side eyed the girl, sitting a little too close to Zelda than he would have preferred, as he finished preparing her kebab. His mind was going over each possible move he could make, eying the distance to his weapons, calculating how much time he would have if it should come to that. He examined the skewer once more, ensuring its perfection before handing it to the Princess. 

Zelda was all too eager to receive some of Link’s cooking, and was about to dig in before she noticed their mystery girl watching her food, her mouth practically watering.

“Would you … like some?” Zelda offered the skewer to the girl’s surprise and Link’s unmitigated displeasure.

“C-Could I really? That was yours, wasn’t it?” She ensured.

“I’m sure that my uh–" The blonde Hylian paused, pondering what she would refer to Link as, "My  _ travelling partner _ would be happy to make me another.” Zelda glanced over at Link with a dangerous smile. “Wouldn't you?” her eyes were locked on his.

There was a quick wordless argument– a duel of the eyes. A duel that the Hero ultimately lost. 

Link’s lips pulled tight again, forcing a smile for Zelda’s sake. “Sure can.” He answered curtly, grabbing another trout and laying it in the pan to simmer as he prepared Zelda a meal once more. “So, you got a name?” Link asked, not delivering the same pleasantries as his royal partner.

The girl nodded as she sat next to the Princess. “Yes, it's Minora! I’m Minora.”

Link pursed his lips, nodding silently. “I see, I see. Nice to meet you, Minora.”

Minora giggled. “Thanks! It’s nice to-”

“Where are you from, Minora?” He interrupted suddenly. Zelda shot him a look, trying to get him to compose himself. Link ignored this.

Minora swallowed, looking more than a little uncomfortable in the palpable tension hanging in the air as she looked around sheepishly at their camp, “I-I’m from Lurelin. My daddy is a fisher–!”

“And what brings you all the way out here,  _ Minora from Lurelin _ ?” Link interrupted again, not breaking eye contact with the stranger as he stirred at the mushroom medley in the pan. He was more than a little skeptical of her story.

“ _ Link! _ ” Zelda hissed at him once more, brows furrowed sternly.

Minora’s lips pulled into a tight smile, eyes steady and unblinking on her interrogator, holding her gifted meal with a fierce grip in her lap. “Well, I was looking for my Dad,” she started, pausing to take a large mouthful of immaculately cooked fish. “He went out on his boat and never came back after my mama– Well ... She passed away. Illness ...”

Link frowned, watching her intently as he passed Zelda’s new skewer over the fire to her. “I’m very sorry to hear that, Minora.”

“Oh, how awful.” Zelda interjected, making a point to be louder than him to be sincere enough for the both of them. “It's never easy to lose a parent.” She took the finished skewer from Link daintily holding onto the ends while she sampled a perfectly pan seared mushroom. Finally, she began to feel her hunger being sated by Link’s cooking. 

“I’ve been searching the riverbanks here for weeks, every night is just so cold!" Minora helped herself to another hearty bite of fish, humming as it warmed her belly “Is this bass? It's really good."

Zelda opened her mouth to correct her but not before her knight spoke up first.

“So, any luck?” Link pushed, his stirring came to a halt. “Finding him?”

Camp went silent after he spoke, with only the crackling of the fire to break up the dead silence.

“No.” Minora spoke quietly, as if she was afraid to admit it.

Link nodded and clicked his tongue before refocusing on his meal.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry.” Zelda spoke sweetly, placing a hand on the girl’s lap. Link's attitude towards the stranger was appalling, and it left a horrible taste in her mouth to see him behaving this way. Once this traveler is on her way, she would have to give him a stern talking to. How else are they to bring Hyrule back together when he reacts so hostile towards those in need?

Minora returned a weak smile to the princess. “Thank you, I really appreciate it. I think that the worst part is just- It's like …” She stopped for a moment, her eyes tearing up and lower lip starting to tremble.

“Oh sweetheart, I-” Zelda began, empathizing with her, and wanting to share her own grief, but was suddenly interrupted by the young girl.

“It’s how when he was there everything made sense– even if things were chaos– it would be ok! Because at least he was there! And he would make sense of it for us! And now!? Everything just …  _ Nothing _ makes sense!” She was speaking louder now, and she slowly stood as she spoke.

Zelda glanced over at Link, beginning to feel a bit unsafe in the presence of this aggravated youth. Link, however, did not return her glance, seemingly entirely focused on his cooking, nodding along to Minora’s plight.

"And the real kicker? I wasn't even home when he left! I never got to say goodbye! One day he’s there, and the next? He isn't!?" Now the strange girl was standing directly behind Zelda, holding her skewer in her fist with just a bit of food left on it. Link continued to focus on the sizzling pan before him.

Zelda felt the beginnings of regret for extending her kindness to this poor soul.

There was a long silence.

“Could you  _ ever _ imagine a pain like that? To lose somebody so near and dear to you that your  _ whole _ world comes crashing down?” The girl growled, anger filling her words. Zelda couldn’t see it, but in that moment the girl was glaring at Link with a quiet rage, building slowly.

The camp was quiet one last time for what seemed like minutes. The one to break the silence– surprisingly– was Link. He carefully lifted the fish out of the pan, holding it up so that both of them could see, and then he spoke.

“Great sear on that  _ 'bass' _ , dontcha think?”

Something snapped within the young traveler, an intense rage had finally boiled over.

His words, ignoring everything that she had said, seemed to trigger something within her, and Minora snapped, her once simmering rage finally boiled over. With a mighty cry, the travelling girl lifted the sharp wooden skewer above her head, plunging it downwards towards the Princess of Hyrule.

Link acted on instinct. He gripped the handle of the worn pan and with his wrist and elbow he launched the cookware at interloper, sending his supper tumbling to the dirt below. Having had several minutes of monologue to line up his shot, Link met his target with ease. It connected with a terrible clang against Minora’s forehead, sending the girl hurdling backwards into the dark.

In the sudden commotion, Zelda shrieked, ducking low with her arms up to protect her head as Link flung the cast iron pan, fresh from the fire, over her. Tears stung her eyes as she scrambled up and off the log over to Link's side of the fire, placing herself just behind him where she would be safe. Having had quite the startle she tried to slow her breathing so she could try and hear the girl in the darkness.

Link gripped the Master Sword and pulled it from its sheath with a satisfying ring. He swung the blade to the side, blocking the attacker’s way to the princess. “You people seriously haven’t given up yet?!” Link shouted into the darkness.

Barely a second had passed when the intruder dashed back into view, only this time it wasn't the young Hylian woman from before– it was a masked Yiga foot soldier! The red eye insignia painted on her mask glared back at both of them. In her hand she wielded a vicious sickle which she raised with killer intent, curved blade flashing orange in the light of the campfire, before bringing it down on the hero.

But not before Link deflected the blow with a well-timed parry, and sparks flew from the collision of metal on metal.

The Yiga agent backstepped, still knowing that she had gotten the upper hand on the ill-prepared travellers. “You truly thought that the Yiga clan would simply disappear with Master Kohga?” She screeched, rage tinging her words.

“No, but I thought vanquishing the Calamity might.” Link spat back. “What do you stand to gain by attacking us now?” Link kept his free hand on Zelda’s shoulder, keeping her at distance so that he could protect her.

“Silence, you worthless Goddess-fearing fool!” The Yiga’s voice conveyed a deep madness– a madness only taught within groups of defected Sheikah. 

There was no greater sin than to blaspheme the name of the Goddess in such a way, yet the Yiga clan, whose morality had been too weak, discarded their Goddess Hylia in favour of Ganon’s vile influence. Even when Link, with not a memory in his head, had laid eyes upon the malice monstrosity that was Calamity Ganon, he knew that he was looking at a cultivation of pure evil. And yet they worshipped it with the same fervency.

“Though Master Kohga may be gone, and our Evil King has been sealed away, the Yiga clan shall never forgive your atrocities against our people!” She screamed, dashing forward to attack once more. 

Link moved swiftly, as he deftly sidestepped the attack. Trying to keep himself between the Yiga and his princess, he pushed Zelda out of the way with one hand. “Stay down!” Link commanded her, turning back to face his opponent.

Zelda complied, scrambling backward her back was pressed against the rock face the camp was nestled into. How could this be happening? She remembered seeing the bits and pieces of Link’s quest as she fended off the Calamity, but she knew  _ for a fact _ that the Yiga’s leader was defeated, utterly and completely, by Link in the desert of Gerudo. Why did they continue their attacks?

Link quickly found himself on the defensive. Whoever this Yiga agent was, she was well trained in battle. In a swift motion, the Yiga swung her sickle towards Link’s weapon. The deadly curve of her blade hooked around the Master Sword, and had him attempting to wrest back control of his weapon from his attacker. The tip of her weapon was dangerously close to his nose, and while he put up a valiant fight, the cunning wit of the assassin won over. Before the hero could pull his blade from her sickle’s clutches, the foot soldier connected a knee into his solar plexus with excessive force. Link gasped as he felt the air leave his lungs all at once. Reeling from such a blow, he could no longer keep a grip on the sacred sword. The Yiga reefed the blade from his hands with a mighty swing, and Link could hear the blade embed itself into the ground a few meters away. He dropped to his knees, now defenseless against his attacker as he fought to regain his breath.

“Link!!” Zelda cried out, watching from only a few meters away. In response, the Yiga turned its masked face in her direction. Zelda felt her stomach drop. She couldn’t see their assailant’s face, but she knew that beneath the mask her eyes were filled with pure hatred. Not only for Link, but for her as well. 

The Yiga chuckled to herself, pointing her weapon in Zelda’s direction. “Just wait, Princess …

“You’re next.”

Link cried out wordlessly, finally regaining his stamina. He sprang forward, spearing the Yiga with a shoulder tackle. The Yiga cried out in surprise as they both hit the ground, not expecting the hero to recover so quickly.

The princess felt a newfound hope as Link jumped back into battle, but knew that she couldn’t simply stand by uselessly. Zelda’s eyes searched the camp for something– anything that could be of use. Link’s bow and arrows were still sitting with his other things on the grass by the fire. Zelda’s mind quickly orchestrated a plan, and she carefully began making her way over so as to not alert the assassin.

Link rose to his knees as the Yiga writhed on the ground below him. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, trying to locate his precious weapon. But before he could get his bearings, he was surprised once again as the Yiga slipped her legs out from under him, pulled her knees to her chest, and extended a double-footed kick to Link’s chest which sent him sprawling out onto his back on the grass.

The Yiga performed a kick-up to plant her feet back on the ground. She snatched up her weapon which had fallen from her grasp earlier, spinning it around in her hand as she approached the prone Hylian Hero. 

Link began reaching around for something, anything to defend himself. But his hands consistently grasped at nothing but grass.

“Guess your good luck is over, hero!” The Yiga rose reared her weapon, confident in her victory over the Hylian Champion …

Link felt his fingers grasp something hard and metallic.

The assailant heard a familiar metallic clang as her sickle was deflected. She glanced downward to see Link, a now-cooled cast iron pan in hand. He held it in defense, blocking her attack as a sort of makeshift shield.

“Hmph. Perhaps not.” The Yiga scoffed, spinning her weapon in hand again, keeping her movements loose and light. “But you’re nothing without your precious Master Sword, fool.”

Link glanced over to his right, seeing the unmistakable shimmering of the blessed steel. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He wouldn't be able to retrieve Master Sword without him or Zelda being attacked first. He couldn’t risk it. For now, all he could do was play the waiting game.

Zelda heard the sound of metal on metal once again as the Yiga resumed its attack. Zelda attempted to calm her shaken nerves, understanding that if Link was preoccupying their assailant, she would have the opportunity to strike. She gripped the bow tightly as she pulled an arrow from the quiver. 

The Yiga continued its relentless assault, not giving Link a moment to breathe, as Zelda brought the bow up, readying her shot. He was totally devoted to defense, his frying pan giving him little else to work with. Unless he was given an opportunity to counterattack, he would eventually succumb to the Yiga’s attack. She needed to give him an opening.

She attempted to notch her arrow, but her shaking hands prevented her from aiming properly, the arrow bouncing around uselessly against the arrow plate. She tried to slow her breathing and calm her pounding heart, but she didn't have much time. As she pulled back the string once more, Link’s voice sounded off in her mind.

_ “The stance is crucial.” _

“Right.” Zelda muttered to herself, adjusting her feet to face 90 degrees away from the Yiga.

_ “The string should rest in the crease of your fingers.” _

Zelda readjusted her hand placement, watching as the arrow steadied itself.

_ “Now … with your dominant eye …” _

“Fire.”

She released the arrow, letting it cut silently through the air. Zelda held her breath for a second that seemed to never end, before suddenly she was snapped out of her trance by a pained cry. Her arrow had met its mark. 

The Yiga’s back arched in pain as the arrow lodged itself into her right shoulder. “Y-You little bitch!!” She shrieked.

The assassin was about to turn and face her before Link made his move. Taking the split-second opportunity that Zelda had given him, Link reeled back and bashed the flat side of the pan into the Yiga agent’s masked face. There was a deafening clang, overpowering the sharp crack of the Yiga’s mask as the side of it cracked under the force of his attack.

The attacker fell back with a hard thud, head surely reeling. Link glanced over at Zelda in disbelief, who appeared to be just as shocked as he..

After a long silence, Link flashed her a smile. “Nice shot!!” He called out to her, tossing the battered pan at the downed foe. He rushed to reunite with his sword, pulling it unceremoniously from the dirt.

Zelda finally felt her breath begin to return to her, and the toll that such an encounter had dealt her. The bow slipped through her fingers, clattering to the ground, and she stumbled backwards onto her rear, still not believing that she had actually done that.

Link approached the Yiga on the ground, jutting the Master Sword’s tip towards her throat. Now he could see the Yiga’s face through the broken portion of her mask. Her skin was pale and she seemed almost delicate– like a porcelain doll. But her eyes betrayed that very notion. They were fierce, wild and burning with hatred as she glared back up at him.

“Who sent you?” Link barked down at her, “I killed Kohga. I know he’s dead. Who sent you?!”

The Yiga answered by leaning forward, pressing the sharp tip of the Master Sword into her neck deep enough to draw blood, as if daring him to finish her. Link could hear her suck air in through her teeth before she spoke. “We of the Yiga shall  _ never  _ be snuffed out by the light. Our master is the Evil King himself– undying and beautiful. You may have sealed him away, but his hatred will  _ never _ die.

"It will only return more powerful.”

And with those final words, the spy disappeared into a puff of smoke, paper talismans filling the air and blowing away in the wind.

Link sighed, lowering his sword to a relaxed position, its tip grazing the dirt below. “Dammit …” He muttered to himself, kicking at the dented pan on the ground as he sheathed his blade. He turned to check on his princess.

Zelda’s eyes met his the moment that he came into view. “Oh my Goddess, Link!” She exclaimed, her eyes filled with fear. Link didn’t know why, but seeing her like that made him instinctively kneel down to meet her, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace. Zelda didn’t question it, only pulled him in tighter. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have stopped, we-”

“Stop with that,” he instantly shut her down. “Are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“N-No! No, I’m fine.” Zelda pulled back to face him. “Was that … the  _ Yiga _ ? What in creation are they still doing around?”

Link chuckled weakly, “They’ve been after me since I shut down their operation. I figured they would stop once we got rid of the Calamity, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.” He sighed, looking back around at the camp. “Maybe … we should stay put for tonight.” He suggested.

Zelda seemed apprehensive of the idea. “But … what if she comes back? What if she-” Zelda suddenly stopped as Link gritted his teeth, holding onto his midsection. “Are you alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I think I may just uh …” He paused again, clenching his eyes closed. “She may have bruised some ribs with that knee.”

“Oh my goodness. Well, we’ll have to get you patched up.”

Link nodded, starting to stand up. “Yeah, just let me get my gauze from my bag and-”

Zelda placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down into a sitting position. “Nonsense, let me get you some of my medicine first.” She insisted, crawling over to look through her things.

“What? No, that’s fine, I’ll just-”

“Enough of  _ that _ .” She interrupted, “I won’t have you protecting me at any less than peak physical condition.”

Link sighed. In a battle of words, she knew more of them. “Very well, Princess.” He admitted defeat, grabbing the back of his tunic and pulling it over his head.

When Zelda turned back, she couldn’t help but blush when she saw him sitting shirtless before him. His muscles were toned, just a bit more muscular than she remembered from one hundred years ago. She figured that a year or so in the wilderness would do that to you. “Right … Can you lift your arms?”

Link lifted his arms slowly, his hands reaching about as high as his head before he started to grimace. “That’s the best I can do.”

“That’s fine.” Zelda poured some of the salve from the bottle into her hand. “Alright, so it’s a little cold.” She warned him before slowly applying the medicine to his midsection.

Link let out a small yelp as she made contact. “Whoa, you weren’t kidding, eh?”

Zelda let out a quiet laugh. The two sat in silence for a moment, allowing the tension to lift from the camp like hot air, rising above them until the calm finally set in once again.

Zelda spoke up as she finished applying the medicine. “So … how did you know?”

“Know what?” Link asked as he relaxed his arms, tired from holding them up for so long.

“How she was a Yiga.” Zelda clarified, getting the gauze out of her bag and gesturing for him to lift his arms again.

He rolled his eyes, obliging the princess so she could wrap his middle. “I didn’t, really.” He admitted.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” She scoffed, “You knew that she was no good from the moment you heard her. What was it?”

Link thought for a moment before answering. “I suppose it was a couple things, actually. Usually these guys don’t flesh out their lies very well. Once you get familiar out here, it gets easier to catch people in their lies.”

“Such as?” Zelda asked him, her interest clearly piqued.

“Well …” Link started, “The story just didn’t make sense. She said that her father was a fisherman, but she couldn’t tell trout from bass. That doesn’t sound like someone who grew up by the sea.”

Zelda hummed along with him as he spoke. “That’s quite an assumption to go on. Perhaps she had just forgotten?”

“Then what about the story of where she was looking?”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“She told us she was following the rivers, trying to find her father’s boat.”

“Yes?”

“This river is  _ landlocked _ .” He pointed out, gesturing over to the banks of the river nearby. “The Zora River flows from the East Reservoir, goes all over Hyrule, but it never connects to the ocean. His boat never could have made it here.”

Zelda furrowed her brow. “Then perhaps he had abandoned his boat? If he was trying to disappear then it wasn’t out of the question.”

“Right, which is why I still wasn’t convinced by then.” Link nodded with a chuckle, “But the skewer tipped me off.”

“The skewer?”

“Her hands. She ate almost all the meat off the skewer until there was barely anything left. I could see that she was absolutely white-knuckling it. Not like a utensil– like a weapon. She had left food on the skewer well after she finished eating to give her an excuse to hold onto it without us cracking wise of what she was doing.”

Zelda glanced over at the discarded skewer, laying in the grass with a single mushroom still pierced through. “I see. You certainly have become perceptive, haven’t you?”

Link cocked his head to the side in a reluctant nod. “I suppose. I don’t know how perceptive I was back then, but it’s good to know that I have somebody who does.”

The two of them shared a laugh, a sweet moment in a night that seemed to bring only distress. Zelda could only marvel and how she deserved such a steadfast companion, but she was not one to question the Goddess and her grand plan.

Zelda finished preparing Link’s bandages, making sure they were tight and secure. Once the medicine had set in, Link set up their cots for the night, convincing Zelda that it may be best to stay put just in case anything else was planned down the trail. 

As she finished sliding into her cot, she took a moment, sitting up to face him one more time. “You were suspicious of her even before you knew all that. What made you so apprehensive?”

Link furrowed his brow. “Princess …” He replied, gesturing over to his supply bag, “That’s Stealthfin Trout. They're only found in two places in all of Hyrule. Not only that, but that fish was specifically given as tribute to the king of the Zora.

“I just didn’t want to share.” He answered bluntly.

Zelda stared at him with wide eyes before a giggle cracked through, then it boiled over into a full on laugh, falling back and into her cot as she did. “Oh my! You’re an absolute glutton, you know that?”

Link shook his head. “No, I’m a gourmand.” He crossed his hands in an X formation. “Not the same thing.”

The two shared a comfortable laughter together, until it subsided organically.

Zelda smiled widely, feeling much safer under his watchful eye. “Goodnight, Link.” She spoke as she pulled the covers over herself.

“Goodnight, Your Highness.”

Eventually, Zelda managed to get some sleep with her trusted knight watching over their camp with conviction.

It was his job to protect her, after all.

* * *

“Hey, buddy!” Link exclaimed happily, wrapping his arms around Truth’s wide neck. “How’ve you been, big guy? Have they been treating you right?” Truth gave a light whinny in response, nipping at his hair and tugging at it playfully. “Yeah, that’s what I thought!” He nuzzled into the space between his horse’s big gentle eyes.

Thankfully, the rest of the night prior had gone off without a hitch. Link stayed vigilant through the night, giving himself small naps in between time guarding the camp to make sure he was well rested. In the morning, the two of them set off early, making great time and arriving at Foothill Stable by mid-morning.

Foothill Stable was nestled right into the base of Death Mountain in the Eldin province. This stable thrived precisely on travellers venturing up the mountain to Goron City and needed a place to house their horses. As such, business was always booming for the tiny stable and Link knew the stablehands well. 

“He was very good, surprisingly.” The stablehand nearby spoke, dumping a bucket of oats into the nearby trough. “Never a peep out of him the whole time he was here, and we all kept our fingers.”

“That’s my boy!” Link spoke, rewarding the bare minimum of behaviour by scratching behind his ear, causing the horse to lean into his affections.

Zelda approached Truth, gently running a hand through his chestnut brown mane. “He seems quite happy to see you. I do feel bad for having to leave him here longer as we head up the mountain...”

“Did I hear you say you were headed up the mountain?” A deep, friendly voice sounded off behind them. 

The two turned to see the wide frame of a Goron, the mighty rock-beings that made Death Mountain their home. He gave them both a toothy smile as she adjusted the straps of a positively massive pack on his back, adorned with a lantern for travelling at night as well as many other bits and bobs that Zelda couldn’t discern at a glance.

“Oh, yes. We were just about to depart for Goron City.” Zelda explained politely.

“Well, you’ve run into the right Goron!” He boomed, swinging his enormous backpack over his shoulder and onto the ground with a mighty thud. “The name’s Boldon! I’m the ambassador of tourism for Goron City, and I would love to help you on your way!”

“Oh really?” Zelda inquired with a curious head tilt. The prospect of the Gorons having a tourism sector was inspiring.

“Yes, really!” Boldon confirmed, “Now, where is that … Oh! There we go!” Boldon pulled two glass bottles from his pack, each containing a black, watery substance. “Two fireproof elixirs for two lovely travellers!”

“Oh my, thank you  _ ever _ so much!” Zelda took both, handing one off to Link, “I must admit, I may have forgotten that travelling up Death Mountain can be quite dangerous without protection.” There was no greater truth in that statement. Death Mountain did not earn its name by chance. 

The mountain was an active volcano, so active in fact that the mantle of lava under the rocky terrain was dangerously close to the surface, heating the ground above to unbelievable temperatures. Anyone not blessed with Goron biology would often find their belongings, clothes, and even their bodies combusting from just the temperature alone without the help of magic elixirs or special armour.

“Indeed.” Boldon nodded, swinging his bag onto his back once again. “It’s bad press to have tourists just bursting into flames on their way up the mountain!”

“Well, it’s much appreciated.” Link said, popping the cork and taking a whiff of the elixir.

“Anytime, friend!” Boldon replied, turning to head back down the road. “Enjoy your time in Goron City. Oh!” Boldon stopped, turning back to face them. “And uh … just be careful on your way up the road.” He added, before heading back down the road towards Hyrule Field.

“Hmm … I wonder what he means by that?” Zelda asked, popping the cork of her own bottle.

Link said, “Not sure. Probably just a few stray Keese bothering travellers.” –then he jabbed his thumb to his chest with a smile– “Nothing I can’t handle!” 

Link brought the bottle up to his lips, glancing over at Zelda. “Ready to go?”

“No time like the present.” Zelda raised her bottle, as if she was giving a toast to their good fortune on the road to Goron City.

Link did the same, and the two downed the tasteless elixir at the same time.

* * *

The elixir’s effects manifested much faster than the pair had expected. Before they had even reached the incline of the mountain, Zelda had begun to shiver, as if she had somehow wandered into the Tabantha tundras, something she didn't ever remember happening a hundred years prior.

The elixirs were magic, of course, she knew this. They were created by mixing fireproof lizards found on Death Mountain with the parts of various monsters that roam Hyrule. Doing so combines the lizard’s fireproof qualities with the latent magic within the monster parts, allowing the consumer to gain those abilities for a short time.

However, a little-known side effect came with such an elixir. The fireproof lizards of Death Mountain did not have fireproof scales or skin, as most people thought. Instead, they are all born with the ability to ludicrously lower their body temperatures to mitigate the extreme heat of the mountain. So, if the elixir takes effect before the consumer reaches the hottest parts of Death Mountain will cause them to feel extremely cold as their bodies prepare for the heat. Link had heard stories of people who got their elixirs mixed up in Hebra, causing them to go into instant hypothermic shock as soon as it took effect.

Needless to say, nothing of that sort occurred on the way up. 

Zelda noted that her shivers were starting to go away as they began crossing the natural rock bridge over a river of nearly boiling water, the steam rising all around them. Link was happy that the elixirs worked, noting that the label on their bottles mentioned that they would last 48 hours total.  _ “Enough time to enjoy a relaxing night in the Goron Hot Springs!”  _ It read in a rather enthusiastic font. Link couldn’t help but chuckle, noting how hard it must be to convince people to vacation in a city that makes you spontaneously combust.

Zelda groaned, her legs aching from climbing. The path had been coasting upwards for a good hour now, and it seemed like it was never going to plateau or give her any sort of break. She thanked herself that she had left her most cumbersome and flammable belongings at the stable, but the strain was still very much present. “How um … How long is the climb? Typically?” She called up to Link as he led the way.

“I’d say … probably around two hours?” He answered, his breath also laboured by their ascent as he turned the corner around the cliff that they were following. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. If we need to rest, we can-”

Link’s speech stopped as he disappeared behind the cliff. Concerned, Zelda picked up her pace to meet him. “Link?” She called out as she turned the corner behind him, “What’s wr-”

Link stuck out his hand to stop her in her tracks, and she instantly saw why.

A Talus. An Igneo Talus to be specific. The huge beast, made entirely of rock and burning with the heat of the volcanic rock around them, sat embedded in the ground before them and blocked the way through the small canyon. To the undiscerning eye, it would appear to just be a large deposit of molten rock jutting out of the path, but Link and Zelda knew better from experience.

“Damn … I was sure I took care of most of these guys last time I was here.” Link cursed.

Zelda grimaced. Talus were remarkably powerful, and an Igneo Talus’s red-hot body would burn anybody that laid hands on it. However, she also recognized the advantages on their side. “Well … it does appear to be sleeping. We could simply go around it.”

“Yeah but look behind it.” Link pointed, and Zelda felt her heart sink a bit.

A wall. Where there used to be a slope leading up to the rest of the mountain path, the rock had given out and slid away, leaving a 30 foot wall of volcanic rock that would need to be climbed to reach the rest of the path. The Igneo Talus sat only a couple feet away from the wall and would easily be able to pick off anybody climbing the wall like a sitting duck, given the opportunity.

So now, they were back to square one. Zelda was about to turn to Link and come up with some sort of strategy before the Hylian knight let out a sigh, dipping into his back and grabbing a pair of thick gloves. He handed them over to her with a smirk. “You go on. I make sure it doesn’t see you.”

“What?!” Zelda took the gloves, identifying them as climbing gloves. “Link, I’m no climber. If it wakes up, how are you-”

“Relax, I’ve got this.” Link interrupted, pulling his bow off of his back. “As long as you’re quiet, he won’t wake up. And if, for whatever reason, he wakes up, I’ll draw his attention with this.” He held his bow up to show her. “I don’t have any bomb arrows. Those ignite if you bring them up here. But I know that it’ll react if I start shooting at him.”

“But then what about you?” Zelda asked, her eyes filled with worry.

“I’ll be fine.” Link shot her a confident smile. He retrieved the Sheikah Slate from Zelda’s belt, unclipping it and taking it into his own hands. “See? I have to bring this back to you. I promise.”

Zelda sighed. He was always so stubborn and reckless. “Hmph. Fine. But don’t you dare let it get me.” She agreed, slipping the gloves on to her hands.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” The two separated, Link taking a position away from the Talus as Zelda began her approach.

Zelda could feel her heartbeat quickening as she tiptoed around the dormant stone giant. Just a few feet away from it as she snuck by, she could feel the heat emanating off it like it was some sort of quiet inferno. She wanted to laugh as she thought that this was probably what Boldon meant when he told them to be careful on the road.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, her mind lurched as her foot caught on something. She stopped quickly, using her arms to rebalance as to not fall over. When she looked down, her confusion only increased. 

She had stepped into a hole. Not too deep, but remarkably wide, reaching from one craggy wall almost to the middle of the canyon. Zelda initially thought that it was created by the Talus, but upon closer inspection, the shape didn’t add up. They almost looked like the footprints of a large bird, three splayed toes and a sharp heel. She shook herself out of it, realizing that focusing on the task at hand was more important than some sort of archaeological find.

Zelda continued past the Talus, successfully keeping it from waking before she reached the wall. Carefully, Zelda grabbed onto a handhold, a small crack left in the wall with just enough space for her hand. In fact, Zelda was happy to see that this wall was filled with these handholds, probably left by other travellers that came before them.

Zelda began her climb, gaining more confidence with each step. Eventually she stopped, turning back to look at Link hiding behind a cluster of rocks by the canyon entrance. She smiled over at him, letting go for a moment to wave so that he would know that she was fine.

But she was suddenly startled by a loud crack, her foot dropping suddenly as the foothold fell out from beneath her.

Zelda watched with horror as the weighty rock tumbled down the wall, clattering once, twice, three times before smashing on the ground. There was a weighty silence that felt like ages before Zelda saw the Igneo Talus stirring, beginning to rise out of the rock itself. Spurred on by panic, Zelda turned back to the wall and started to climb again, not daring to look back at the massive monster as it rose to full height and began advancing towards the wall.

Link acted quickly, standing up from his hiding place and pulling an arrow from his quiver. He readied his shot, watching as the metal arrowhead burst into flame, becoming a makeshift fire arrow in his hands. He fired without hesitation, watching the arrow soar through the air and bounce off the back of the Talus’s body.

The might beast immediately stopped, slowly turning to look at Link where he stood. Link smirked, jumping up and down while waving his hands. “Hey, you idiot! Over here! Come get me!” He cried.

The Talus stared at him for a moment, not watching Zelda as she attempted to climb higher and higher. She was halfway up the wall when Link’s stomach dropped, as the Talus turned back away from him, deeming him a less important threat than the one that woke him.

“Oh no …” Link muttered to himself, immediately regretting his own arrogance in thinking that the Talus would choose him over her. He leapt his rocky barricade, dashing full sprint towards the flaming golem. “No no no no!” He cried out, pulling the Sheikah Slate from his belt and activating its Bomb Rune. A spherical bomb appeared in his hand as he approached, hoping to the Goddess that he would make it in time.

Zelda’s breath quickened as the shadow of the Talus began to loom over her. The sound of its footsteps were deafening, louder than she ever remembered they were. She felt as if it was right on top of her as she crested the top of the wall. The princess fought her best instincts for just a moment as she dared to turn and look.

There it was, right within range to attack. Zelda could feel her stomach flip in her gut as it raised its hand, ready to hurl one of its boulders her way. She covered her head, dropped to her knees in preparation for the impact …

And was thoroughly unprepared for the noise.

Link and Zelda were both sent flying backwards from the force as something very fast and very heavy seemingly fell from the sky. The impact was like an explosion, kicking up so much dust that the two found themselves lost in a cloud of dirt as they rose to their feet.

Link jumped to his feet, dashing into the cloud and towards the chaos. “Princess!!!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to get her attention over the noise. Link could hear the grinding of stone from within the fog accompanied by a constant whirring. As the dust started settling, he immediately understood what had happened.

Zelda got back to her feet, completely bewildered by what stood before her. One powerful stone leg, ending in a massive foot that cracked the very earth it walked under. The Talus was gone, shattered into a million stone pieces by the sheer weight of that which had crushed it.

Zelda recognized the form instantly. Her eyes followed the leg up, up, up until she saw it with her own eyes. It was the very thing that they had ventured up the mountain to see.

Divine Beast Vah Rudania had come to greet them.


	6. Chapter 6

“Oh. So you’ve already seen it, have you?” The Goron Elder spoke sheepishly, looking everywhere but at the one addressing him, “I suppose that I have some explaining to do, don’t I?”

“Just a tad, yes.” Zelda answered, arms crossed in front of her.

Thanks to the miraculous arrival of Vah Rudania along the mountain path, Link and Zelda were able to proceed to Goron City unscathed. However, the unprecedented arrival of the Divine Beast was not something to be celebrated. Mipha’s words were at the forefront of Zelda’s mind, and knowing that the Vah Rudania was moving meant one of two things. Either Daruk, the late Goron Champion, still retained control over his Divine Beast … 

Or he had faded, and Vah Rudania was now rampaging through Eldin with no master to control it.

Zelda shuddered at the thought, and the creeping anxiety of the uncertainty nipped at her heels all the way up to Goron City. So much so that when the two arrived, Zelda made a point to head right to the Goron Elder and foreman of the mine, Bludo, for immediate answers. Link agreed with Zelda’s promptness, and even allowed her to meet with the Goron Elder alone while he went to look for a friend who may be able to help.

“Vah Rudania has been mobile– yes.” Bludo groaned, sitting back down in his chair slowly, mumbling something about his back before finally resting his two-ton weight into his sturdy chair. “After the attack on Calamity Ganon it retreated back into the volcano, where we  _ believed _ it would stay until needed. However, only a couple days after the attack, late into the night, the quarry boys saw the damned thing climbing right back out of the summit!” He growled, his rough voice hoarse and scratchy from years of working in the mines.

“So, it did retreat into the mountain, just as Vah Ruta remained atop the plateau in Lanayru …” Zelda thought to herself, rubbing her chin in deep thought. “But it reemerged. Was there any unusual activity that would have garnered the attention of the beast?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Your Highness.” Bludo spoke, leaning forward onto his knees with a grunt. “Since then, it’s been acting in fits and starts. It will climb out of that hole without schedule. Sometimes in the dead of night, other times it will strut all over my mountain in broad daylight like you witnessed today.” Bludo scowled in frustration. “It seems to me that the Gorons always end up like this, at the mercy of that  _ thing _ . First it was the Calamity that terrorized us with Rudania, now the beast seems to want to pick up where Ganon left off.” He sighed, his breath hitching on a cough which he quickly wrangled.

Zelda furrowed her brow as he spoke. She knew for a fact that the Divine Beasts were unearthed to save the people of Hyrule, but she couldn’t help but sympathize with Bludo’s plight. His people have been constantly terrorized by the very thing built to keep them safe. Personally, she could empathize with the Goron's plight, knowing well the feeling of having the Divine Beasts betray their masters, bringing only suffering to those they were designed to protect.

“Has it come here?” Zelda probed, pacing back and forth before the Goron Elder, “–The city, I mean.”

Bludo shook his head, “Not into the city itself. Closest it got was right by the Bridge of Eldin. Seemed to be looking down at the city for a bit before it turned back and crawled to the other side of the mountain.”

“I see …” That was the only piece of hopeful news Zelda had gotten from Bludo thus far. If Vah Rudania had purposefully chosen not to enter the city, that would mean that Daruk could still have control over the colossus. However, she knew that each Divine Beast had its own semblance of lucidity, a personality with thoughts and consciousness that could, theoretically, make decisions of its own without a champion to guide it. And even if Daruk was still in control, it didn’t seem like him to endanger his people in such a way.

Zelda knew that she had to help. If it came to be that Daruk was truly gone, and Vah Rudania had truly run amok …

Their only option would be to destroy it.

Zelda nodded. “Okay. We’ll have to do something about this then, won’t we.” Zelda let her fist fall into her open palm. “We’ll just have to camp out near the summit. When Vah Rudania is within reach, we’ll see what we can do to stop it.”

Bludo looked up at her with surprise? “By yourself? Princess, I respect your Goron guts, but it would be irresponsible of me to send the Princess of Hyrule into such a dangerous environment.”

Zelda chuckled, bringing a hand up to her mouth to stifle her laugh. “Oh dear no. I’m no fighter. I’m much more interested in the research of such a strange phenomenon. However …

“I know just the man for the job.”

* * *

Link sighed, leaning up against the craggy stone wall of his friend’s house. He had hoped that he would be home, but he only found an empty cave. Letting out a disappointed sigh, he asked the empty room aloud, “Where are you, man?” 

Link’s friend, of course, was the Goron Youth, Yunobo. Yunobo was instrumental in stopping Vah Rudania’s initial rampage on Death Mountain. He was also a direct blood relative of the previous Goron Champion, the mighty Daruk. As such, Yunobo had inherited the ancient ability that the Goron Champion had dubbed Daruk’s Protection, a magic shield that protected the user from any harm. The Gorons were never ones to rely on magic, so to be born with such an innate magical talent was a big deal for Daruk and subsequently for Yunobo decades later.

If Vah Rudania had been let loose on the innocent citizens of Goron City once again, he knew that Yunobo was the best candidate to help them stop it. Although Yunobo always seemed a tad high-strung for the job that his predecessor had left vacant, Link had a good deal of respect for his courage in leading Rudania into the mouth of Death Mountain, allowing Link to board it and stop the Blight aboard. There was no Goron that Link could trust more.

_ Well … no living Goron.  _ Link thought to himself, glancing up at the massive carvings of the Goron heroes of legend that overlooked the quaint little city.

Among these heroes– which Link admittedly did not know the names of– was a recognizable face that looked down on him in such a familiar way that it felt as if he was still flesh and blood, one he couldn't help but smile back at.

The face of a close friend of his, the Mighty Daruk of the Gorons.

Daruk was one of the first Champions to be selected, he could recall that much. And such a title was not given away without precedent. Even before his selection, Daruk was famous all over Hyrule for not only being the strongest Goron alive, but the strongest citizen of Hyrule itself. He could take a bath in the very lava that birthed him for hours on end. He could lift boulders the size of Hyrule Castle with relative ease. And, with his greatsword dubbed the Boulder Breaker, Daruk could carve away at the very earth at his whim.

But it wasn’t Daruk’s strength and prowess as a warrior that grabbed Link’s attention in the early days. It was rather the strength of his character that allowed the silent Hylian to open up to him.

Once assigned the role of Zelda’s appointed knight, wielder of the sword that seals the darkness, sworn with the protection of the princess, Link found that his world had been completely thrown upside down. All sense of normalcy was thrown out the window as he was being taught how to stand, how to dress, how to act, and how to speak all while in the company of Hyrule's Princess. He always felt the looming dread of the Calamity’s rapidly approaching arrival, his burdens becoming too cumbersome for someone just shy of four moons into his adulthood, and little could be done to allow the young hero some peace of mind. 

That is, until Daruk joined them.

Once the giant jovial Goron joined them on their quest, Link found it easier to keep his head up. As if the bulk of his anxieties had been released, and he could fully perform his new duties without the burden of stress from having the fate of Hyrule perched on his shoulders. He could specifically remember a phrase, detached from any context or purpose, but he remembered the very inflection of Daruk’s voice when he said–

_ “The weight of the world is nothing! If something like that is holding you down, look to me! I’ll lift it up and carry it for you!” _

Those words emerged within his mind when he met Daruk last, up on Vah Rudania's back, suspended above the boiling center of Death Mountain. It told him everything that he needed to know about his long-lost friend. He knew in that moment that Daruk was– no pun intended– a rock to the people around him.

And he could truly see the effect it had on his people. The Goron people revered Daruk for his pride, his strength, and his heart, all of which. To the Gorons, he was the cream of the crop, an idealistic Goron that each of then should strive to become. Which only made the pain of losing him even greater.

Link was broken from his deep thoughts as he saw Zelda's golden hair crest the hill heading up the path towards Yunobo’s house. He felt himself straighten his back formally and drop his shoulders, brushing any dust off his tunic as she approached. “Hey, how did it go?” His casual tone betrayed his body language.

Zelda let out a deep sigh, her eyes traveling from her boots up towards the Death Mountain summit. “About as well as you would expect. But, considering the Divine Beast terraforming the mountain, it is definitely a lot more relaxed here than I expected it to be. Oh–” Zelda glanced over at the empty house behind him. “Where’s your friend?”

Link shook his head. “Not home. Asked around a bit, but nobody knows where he goes. Told me that he heads out often now. ‘Personal time’ he calls it. Whatever that means.” Link crossed his arms, taking in a heavy breath of hot air, “Which means it’s just you and me. What did Bludo say?” He questioned.

Zelda kept her eyes glued on the summit, smoldering and smoking with a heat that she couldn’t begin to fathom. “It’s been sporadic. It’ll come and go when it pleases, and nobody can seem to be ready for it without camping out and just … waiting for it.”

“So, what’s the plan to get onboard?” Link asked.

Zelda smirked nervously, scratching her cheek lightly with her index finger. “If I say camping out and waiting will you be mad?”

Link rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

“That’s not all!” Zelda interrupted, pouting at his teasing, “I have a plan, I promise! I just need … time! Time to … figure it out.” Zelda took his arm, pulling him down the path and away from Yunobo’s house. “Let’s get going, we still have much to do! I’ll explain on the way!”

“Wh-Whoa, hold on!” Link protested as she pulled him away, much to the amusement of nearby Gorons. “Can’t we at least stop for some Goron Spice first?!”

* * *

Link wiped the sweat from his brow before continuing to restring his traveler's bow. The bottom recurve was hooked under the insole of his boot and his left hand gripped the belly of the bow firmly. He started to pull on the instrument, bending the flexible wood back enough so that it wouldn't snap out of his hands, sliding the string loop with his right thumb and forefinger up into its appropriate notch. He finished by giving the weapon a few test pulls, listening carefully to the twang of the string to determine if it was tight enough.

Zelda sat back on a nearby rock, a glass bottle with half a heat-resistant elixir resting in her hand as she panted, fanning herself with a small Korok Leaf that Link kept in his bag. “Good Goddess … no place in Hyrule should be this hot, especially not this late at night. It’s utterly ridiculous!” She complained, waving the leaf faster, but feeling no relief.

Even though the sun had long set, the overwhelming heat persisted through the night when this close to the summit of Death Mountain. Even with a new fireproof elixir settling in their bellies, Link and Zelda could still feel the heat that poured from the open mouth of the volcano. The air was so stale it was as if they were both locked in a small room with no windows or ventilation on a hot summer day in the Gerudo Desert. Sweat poured off their chins and brows, but they did not falter in the face of such a challenge. 

Zelda predicted that Vah Rudania would crest over the mountain soon, and that would be their only chance.

Link nodded wordlessly as he reached into his bag, pulling out and eying an important piece of Zelda’s plan. One of only a few souvenirs that he had received from Robbie in his last visit to Akkala.

An Ancient Arrow.

Ancient Arrows were developed by the ancient tech scientists for battle against Guardians, effectively rendering their inner workings useless and taking them out in one well-aimed shot. He had initially received a bundle of ten from Robbie, but over the course of his journey he had been forced to use eight of them. Now only two remained, which meant that Link’s accuracy would need to be honed to a razor’s edge if he wished to meet his mark.

A crucial part of the plan was based on the fact that Vah Rudania was one of two Divine Beasts, the other being Revali’s Vah Medoh, that shared a unique weakness that Zelda had noticed one hundred years ago– their Main Control Units. The large, bulb shaped components were onboard every Divine Beast, but unlike Vah Ruta and Vah Nabooris, Vah Rudania’s control unit was not situated within the stone body of the beast. Instead, it was found on the back, and was completely vulnerable to attack. 

Zelda had realized that these control units acted much like the cores of the Guardians– they were the nucleus of the entire machination. Link's Ancient Arrows were capable of affecting its movement, at least for a short period of time. That's all they would need.

The plan was simple. Once Vah Rudania ascended the mountain to hide away inside the volcano, its back would be exposed to Link, allowing him to take his shot from across the lava lake that separated their camp from the mountain. If he met his mark, by Zelda’s calculations, Vah Rudania would be unable to move while it recovered from the shock. That was their one and only chance to board the Divine Beast safely and find out what was causing it to roam like this.

The two of them remained silent, forgoing their usual banter as they waited for the rumbling sound of thunderous footsteps approaching the mountain that would signal them to assume their position. 

And they did not need to wait long.

Zelda’s head snapped up as she felt a low rumble in the rock she sat upon. She stood up, pointing at Link to get ready as she did. Link grabbed his bow and both Ancient Arrows, quickly moving into position to take the shot whenever Rudania was in view. Zelda scooped up the Sheikah Slate, feeling it buzz to life as the Divine Beast approached. 

“Remember, you’ve only got two shots.” Zelda reminded him, looking down at the slate as a round icon meant to represent Vah Rudania crept around the mountain from the northern side. “Take your time, and aim like the Gorons depend on it.”

“Understood.” Link responded, notching the first arrow into a relaxed position. And just as he did, they saw it.

Divine Beast Vah Rudania slowly crept around the north side of the mountain, its giant frame causing the enormous Death Mountain to look like an anthill in comparison. It had much more mobility than Vah Ruta, which had been designed for less tricky landscapes. Vah Rudania was built for scaling mountains, crossing lakes of lava, and achieving high ground like none of the other Divine Beasts could ever dream of. It was perfect for the craggy, magma-bathed slopes of Death Mountain.

Each of its long, flexible legs snaked around the jagged cliffs, its heavy footfalls causing lava to jet up from under the thin layer of volcanic rock. And soon enough, with purpose, it began crawling its way towards the boiling crater at the summit.

Link immediately spotted the control unit on Rudania’s back, pulsing with the same blue light that powered everything else on board. “I’ve got it.” Link assured the princess, pulling back on the bow to take aim and watching as the Ancient Arrow’s spring-loaded mechanism went off, the protective bulb on the end unfurling to reveal the arrowhead, a hardened blade that hummed with concentrated ancient power. 

Link held his breath, steadying his aim as best as he could. The air curdled before him, rippling under the intense heat and making his job that much harder. He felt the tips of his fingers growing sweaty against the taut string, and at any moment he felt like his grip on the arrow could slip. Still he retained a laser focus on the control unit, waiting for the perfect moment …

Release! Link’s newly tuned bow shot the arrow towards Vah Rudania, zipping through the air as it approached its target …

Until Rudania’s enormous leg took its next step, blocking the shot and knocking Link’s arrow off course. Link uttered a curse as he watched the blue trail of the arrow tumble to the cliffs below, erupting into a ball of light when the tip collided with the rocky mountainside.

Zelda clicked her tongue in frustration. “That's okay. One more.” She spoke gently, handing him the second, and last, Ancient Arrow.

Link took another deep breath, not allowing his frustration to cloud his mind as he took the arrow in his hands, readying it against the arrow plate. This was their last chance.

Link drew the arrow back, now inspecting Rudania’s movements closely. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity, one where there was no margin of error. Link could make this shot, he knew that much. What he needed was the perfect moment.

Zelda watched as the arrow unfurled, and she couldn’t help but hold her breath as Link took aim for the colossal beast. If they weren’t able to stop it here, that would be it. The only other option would be to retire Vah Rudania– permanently. It was an option that pained her to even consider, but it would be the only option to protect the peaceful Gorons from its rampage.

Link eyes focused on the bridge of Vah Rudania as it made its way up, up, up towards the lip of the volcanic crater. Soon, the Divine Beast’s back began to rise, running parallel with the steep incline of the mountain.  _ Finally _ , he thought as a smirk ran across Link’s face. From this angle, the legs would no longer be an obstacle, and with the MCU jutting out from Rudania’s back, it was almost a surefire hit. All he needed was to aim true. Link took one last breath, pulling back on the string of his bow so hard that Zelda could hear the wood creaking …

He waited for the pause between his heartbeats before letting the arrow fly.

And fly it did. An audible whistle could be heard as the arrow sliced through the shimmering heat waves, flying straight towards Vah Rudania. It swiftly disappeared from an observable distance, and Link and Zelda both held their breath. 

It felt like minutes, but in just a few seconds, they felt a wave of relief sweep over them as the arrow met its mark, bursting on impact and scrambling the control unit. The two watched the MCU mounted on its back flicker as the loud whirring noise of Vah Rudania’s mechanisms began to slow more and more, until all they could hear was the groaning of the stone structures trying to sustain its own weight.

Without the grip of its feet upon the rocky face of the cliff, it no longer had the ability to hold itself up at that angle. The stone structure of the lizard-like colossus began to creak and groan as it slowly slid down the side of Death Mountain. It gained more and more speed as it slid down the cliff face, gouging the rocky surface with its splayed feet.

“Oh shit …” Link muttered, sensing imminent danger. He grabbed Zelda’s hand, much to her surprise, and pulled her back quickly, ducking behind the nearby rocks for cover just as the beast hit the nearby lake of lava, spraying a wave of molten rock over the cliff that they had just occupied. The Hero grit his teeth planting his hands on the rock face, shielding the princess while summoning a magical orange barrier around them as bits of rubble and molten rock landed around them. Stunned, Zelda could only look upwards at Link with her heart pounding in her chest as his face twisted in a grimace to maintain the gifted ability.

When the rumbling stopped, Link let his arms drop and sat back on his legs with an exasperated sigh, the barrier disappearing instantly. The pair of Hylians dared to look over the rocks to survey the damage. Luckily, the molten rock had stopped the majority of Rudania’s velocity, and the beast now sat motionless at the bottom of the mountain, half-submerged in the lava below.

They had done it. They had stopped Rudania in its tracks.

“Yes!!” Link jumped up, pumping his fist in victory. 

Zelda let out a sigh of relief as Rudania finally halted and Link pulled her back up to her feet. “Amazing work! I never had any doubt!” She beamed at him, and a moment passed while he was still holding her, their eyes locked in each other's happy gazes. “Right!" Her voice broke through their moment of brief victory and Link retreated his hands respectfully. "Now Vah Rudania will only be stopped for a short time, and we must act quickly!” She spoke, running ahead of Link towards the Bridge of Eldin to get better access to the hulking machine.

Link nodded wordlessly, taking off after her. All that was left to do now was board the Rudania and get to the bottom of all this.

* * *

Zelda thanked the Goddess that Vah Rudania was a much shorter Divine Beast than Vah Ruta and did not require much effort to get aboard the great machination. With a helpful boost from her dear knight, the two scaled one of the lizard's massive, limp legs before making the jump onto the body of the beast. 

Although the beast was half-submerged in the lava, Zelda knew that wouldn’t be a problem. Vah Rudania had been built to sustain the intense heat of the Eldin province, including the molten rock that bubbled up from underneath the ground. Link and Zelda tread carefully, Rudania’s slanted position forcing them to walk at an unnatural angle as they approached the inactive control unit.

“Alright, let’s see here.” Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate from under her arm, placing it upon the control unit’s panel as she checked the status of its internals, taking in the different graphs and readings flashing across the screen.

Leaving the technical jargon to the princess, Link glanced around, hand on his sword in case any nearby monsters were attracted by the noise. Rudania had been peppered by rubble as it fell, so the main bridge was not as pristine as the last time he was on board. Rocks and boulders of various sizes littered the deck. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at a glance.

Until the hero spotted movement to his right, beneath a pile of large rocks just a few feet away in the darkness.

Link gripped the hilt of the Master Sword, ready to face whatever waited on the sleeping beast. “Princess?” He calmly spoke, trying to get her attention, but upon glancing back he saw that Zelda was already lost in her work. Any words he said would fall on deaf ears. Link sighed, slowly inching towards the pile with caution.

Link stopped as the boulders shifted again. Link knew that the only monster that could venture this high up Death Mountain would be Igneo Pebblits, the juvenile form of the Talus they had encountered earlier on the road. Link knew that he was capable of dealing with them, but not while they remained dormant. First, he would need to scare them awake.

Link took a deep breath before shouting, “HEY!” over towards the heap of rubble with a hefty stomp of his boot.

But he did not expect the response that followed

Link could barely juke out of the way, tucking into a roll as one of the boulders was hurled from the pile and towards him. The boulder soared through the air, bouncing off the stone surface of Rudania and shattered on impact into several smaller pieces that skittered in all directions. Link’s head snapped back to his target as he saw it rush away from the pile with a frightened yelp, taking cover behind another nearby mound of debris in an unsuccessful attempt to hide itself.

Zelda was immediately alerted to the thunderous crash, spinning around to face her knight as he drew his bow from his back. “Link?! What’s going on?” She asked, taking tentative cover behind the control unit.

“Something’s up here with us!” He called over to her, drawing a regular arrow from his quiver and setting it in one swift motion. “Hey you! Get out here before I-”

“Ahhh! No, I’m sorry!” The voice called out in fear, tossing another boulder haphazardly as he took off in the opposite direction. 

Link watched the boulder soar overhead missing its mark completely with confusion before taking aim once again. “Stop! Hey!” He cried out, but the intruder continued running. He had no other choice. Link let his arrow fly, watching as it cut through the air, meeting its mark …

And promptly bouncing off the glowing polyhedric barrier that surrounded the stranger as he dropped to the ground. “Ah! No, please! Please don’t shoot!”

Link’s brow furrowed as the barrier burst to life, protecting the intruder with its bright, amber light. And as the voice called out once again, everything suddenly clicked.

“... Yunobo?” He called out, now less confrontational and more just … confused.

The stranger stopped trembling, slowly rising to his feet with his barrier still surrounding him. The build was unmistakable. Those broad shoulders and round form were undoubtedly of a Goron. But as he turned, Link could make out the beady eyes and soft face of his friend, sporting an equally as confused look upon his face.

“... Link? Is that you, goro?” Yunobo asked in disbelief. “Wh-What are you doing up here?”

“What am  _ I _ doing? What about  _ you _ ?” Link pressed, putting his bow away as he approached. “What are you doing up here?”

Zelda noticed that the commotion had ceased and poked her head out to see what was going on. Link stood before a Goron, one that she had never met before. She watched carefully from a distance, trying to gauge the nature of the meeting before inserting herself into it.

“Umm … N-Nothing. Nothing at all.” Yunobo answered, his eyes darting away from Link’s as he spoke.

Link rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in front of him. “No man, c’mon. This is serious. Vah Rudania is dangerous for average Gorons like you to be on.” Now that he thought about it, how was he standing here?

“But we both know that this is no average Goron, don’t we, little guy?”

Link felt all the air leave his lungs as that booming voice sounded out behind him. It was like the familiar clap of a broad hand across his back. How could he ever forget a voice like that?

“U-Uncle Daruk!” Yunobo exclaimed with surprise, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened! I-It just shut down on me, goro!”

Zelda covered her mouth with surprise, stepping out from behind the control unit. She had seen a ghost only days prior, but no amount of experience could ever soften the heartache of seeing her fallen friends.

Daruk stood before them exactly as he had in life. His back straight and his hands resting on his hips proudly, he oozed the aura of a proud, noble warrior– one that saved as many lives with his heart as he did with his muscles. He gave a wide, toothy grin before spreading his arms and charging at the puny Hylian boy. 

“Little guy!” He cheered, scooping him up in a powerful Goron hug. Even as a spirit, Link could feel his steadfast grip locking him in place– and that could just as easily pop him like a wildberry between one's fingertips– as he was pulled held against the Goron Champion's body.

Zelda couldn’t contain herself. She popped up from her hiding place and sprinted towards the happy reunion, charging a shoulder into Daruk’s sturdy side and wrapping her arms around whatever she could get a hold of. “Daruk!!” She cheered, pressing her face up against his body.

Daruk cried out in surprise, turning to see the princess latching onto his side. “Ah! And the princess too!” He turned to gather up the second Hylian in his bear hug, squeezing the two kids in a long overdue embrace.

“W-Wait … P-Princess?!” Yunobo exclaimed in startled confusion.

Daruk noticed that Yunobo may be out of the loop by the look on his face, quickly letting go of his Hylian friends and returning them to the ground once again. “Right! Sorry, big guy. This is Princess Zelda. Princess, this is Yunobo. He’s my grandson! Can you believe that? I have a grandson!” Daruk explained, following with a low belly laugh.

Zelda beamed up at him before directing her gaze to Yunobo. “Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She greeted him with a bow.

Yunobo immediately felt the anxiety trembles return. The princess? Like … of Hyrule?  _ All _ of it? Here?  _ Now?! _ “Th-Th-The pleasure’s all mi-” Yunobo began, trying to return the bow but quickly threw himself off balance. He almost toppled completely over before stopping himself, blushing red. “... a-all mine, goro.” He finished, struggling to meet her eyes.

Zelda chuckled, charmed by his soft personality, a fairly uncommon trait among Goron tribes. She suddenly remembered something, turning to face Link with urgency. “Wait … 'Yunobo'? Isn’t that your friend’s name, Link?”

Link nodded. “The very same. Yunobo is the one who helped me free Vah Rudania.”

Zelda turned back to Goron youth, bowing once again. “I thank you for everything you’ve done for our kingdom, Mr. Yunobo.”

Yunobo returned a nervous laugh, overwhelmed by the night’s events. “N-N-No problem! Really, it was Link that did most of the work! I was just moral support, that’s all!” He insisted, knowing well that there was much more to that day then he was letting on.

Zelda gave him a sympathetic smile. “Well, whatever happened, you still have my utmost gratitude.” Zelda suddenly clapped her hands together, turning back to face Daruk. “I do, however, have a few choice words for you!”

Daruk frowned, pointing at himself. “Who, me? Why?”

Zelda shot him a bewildered look. It wasn’t like Daruk to play dumb like this. “Why?! Daruk, Vah Rudania has been stomping all over Death Mountain! All over Eldin, in fact! We thought that Rudania had gone berserk!”

Daruk sighed, putting a hand over his face with a grimace. “I’m sorry. The kid was still getting the hang of it, that’s all!" He ran his giant fingers through his Lynel-esque mane of hair. "I figured that the people would understand once he explained.”

Zelda stared at him long and hard, trying to understand what her old friend could possibly mean. “The … kid? You mean-?” Zelda turned to glance at Yunobo, still standing by as the three companions caught up. “Him?” Zelda exclaimed in a hushed tone.

“Him.” Daruk nodded, confidence in his voice. “Yunobo, come over here!”

“Y-Yes, Uncle Daruk!” Yunobo answered, quickly rushing to his side. “Did you need me?” The Goron twiddled his fingers anxiously in front of himself.

Daruk furrowed his brow, giving Yunobo a serious look. “Do you remember what I told you when I gave you control of Vah Rudania?”

“... Y-Yeah! Of course. You told me that it was a huge responsibility, and I respect that! You also told me to be careful not to step on anything too important, like anywhere in Goron City! And you also-” 

Daruk brought a massive hand up to stop his rambling. “I also told you that it was important to tell the others in the village, didn’t I?”

Yunobo frowned, eyes growing wide like a dog being scolded. “Y-Yeah, you did. A-And I’m gonna tell them– I swear! B-But–”

“No buts!” Daruk interrupted, pointing a finger in his face. “I can’t imagine how confused everyone down there must be. You should have told them right away, Yunobo. It’s irresponsible, and that’s something that the Goron Champion absolutely cannot be!”

“Wait …” Link glanced over at Yunobo, then back at Daruk. It couldn’t be … Then, they were late? “Yunobo … he’s the new Champion?”

Yunobo’s eyes met the stone floor, his toe drawing an imaginary line in front of him. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Link.” He muttered in a dejected tone.

Link shook his head. “No! No, it’s not like that, buddy, it’s just …” Link stopped to mull over the right words to use, “...  _ surprising _ , I guess.”

Daruk let out a laugh at Link’s reaction. “Oh, don’t worry about it, little guy. I’m sure the big fella takes no offense.” Daruk explained, “I do understand your confusion, though. He isn’t much of a fighter right now. Downright puny compared to yours truly!”

Yunobo let out a sigh as the two people he looked up to most took a hearty dig at him. This was not his night.

“But!” Daruk continued, pointing another finger at his descendant, “Yunobo is my own flesh and blood! If anybody is worthy of piloting Divine Beast Vah Rudania, it’s that Goron right there!

“I have faith in him!”

Yunobo started to perk up, a smile creeping up his face. It was quickly shut down though, as Daruk jutted his finger into Yunobo’s chest. “As long as he follows in his uncle’s footsteps, and he remembers that the people come first! Never second, and certainly not third!”

Yunobo sighed, bowing his head low apologetically, “I know, I’m sorry … It’s just that everybody was so scared when I started moving Rudania that when it came time to tell them, I … I froze up. I was so scared that I was going to disappoint all of them, goro. Because you’re just so big and powerful, and I’m so …" Yunobo’s eyes were cast downward, ashamed that he had already failed his station, "weak …”

“What in Din’s eternal flame are you babbling about?” Daruk’s blunt words shocked everyone, and Yunobo’s head snapped up to meet him, “You’re a GORON, dammit! We are blessed with a divine strength that the other races of Hyrule could only dream to hold. Your belly is round, but hard! Your fists are like boulders, and you could crack a Moblin open with one hand! All the other races wish that they could be you! Plus-”

Suddenly, Daruk grabbed Yunobo by the shoulders, reeled back, and delivered a mighty headbutt to his own relative. The force shook the very Divine Beast they stood upon, but when the two Hylians looked back up, they were astonished to see that Daruk’s Protection still surrounded Yunobo, leaving him unscathed from Daruk’s full-force attack. Daruk pulled back, grimacing as his skull rattled from the impact, but flashed him a wide smirk. 

“You aren’t just the one to succeed me, Yunobo ...” He finished, standing up straight and pounding his fists together. “You’re the one who will surpass me!”

Yunobo’s eyes sparkled with wonder. He had always known that his predecessor was a great man, but to know his wisdom personally was enough to light a fire in his belly, white hot and determined. Yunobo nodded, pounding his own fists together. “R-Right! I’m the Goron Champion, and it’s high time I act like it, goro!”

“Yeah, Brother!” Daruk cheered.

Link and Zelda watched the two as they embraced in a Goron hug, feeling almost as if they were intruding in such a touching family moment. They did, however, notice something a bit worrying. As Daruk wrapped his thick Goron arms around Yunobo, they watched as Daruk’s back began to fade, causing the Goron Champion to stop, forcing himself to stay in the land of the living. He succeeded, but it told them something that they knew from the beginning.

Daruk didn’t have much longer.

* * *

Zelda was able to kickstart the control unit using the Shiekah Slate as an external start to the machine to resume all regular functions, apologizing all the while for having taken such dramatic measures. Link helped Yunobo clear Rudania's back of boulders and debris, lifting and tossing rocks from the deck. Within the hour the Divine Beast was back up on its feet as if nothing had ever happened.

Yunobo insisted on returning to Goron City before anything else. He said that he needed to set things right, to let the Gorons know that everything was okay and apologize for not letting them know. Daruk watched with pride as Yunobo set off, hands on the controls as Rudania made long, slow strides over the dry and sun-bleached landscape towards Goron City.

As he did, Link and Zelda spent time with their long-lost friend. Link and Daruk sat on the edge of the beast, nothing but air between their feet and the lava below. Zelda stood nearby, the slate clipped back into her belt as she watched as the bright lights of Goron City get closer and closer as they approached.

“Man …” Daruk spoke, after a long silence between the three of them, “Not a whole lot has changed in one hundred years, has it?”

Link shook his head. “You have yourself to thank for that. A whole generation of Gorons would be living in fear if it wasn’t for the legacy you left.”

Daruk's furry brows knit together, creasing his forehead. “What do you mean by that?”

Zelda chuckled. “Come now. It’s pretty obvious, is it not? It’s plain to see as soon as you enter the city.” Zelda pointed off in the distance, towards the carvings of the Goron Heroes towering over the city, topped off by a statue of Daruk himself, serving as a watchful protector of the Goron people even in death. “They revere you, Daruk, they all do. Your story is what keeps your people going.”

Daruk shrugged his massive shoulders before gesturing to his grandiose tribute. “Yeah, but that's not me! They never knew the real me, the one that all of you guys got to see! But that’s the job of a hero, isn’t it?” He asked, looking over at Link who had been watching the horizon intently before meeting his eyes, “To be larger than life, and give people hope? That’s the job of a hero! Even if they fail, they stand for more than just the end result. That statue represents an idea. That's what keeps them going.”

"Is it worth it?" Link asked with an urgency in his eyes, prompting the Goron spirit to cock his head to the side. He pressed further, “Your idea– was it worth it?”

Daruk barked in laughter, "I suppose you'll have to wait until you get your own statue, little guy!"

The Hylian did not share the amusement.

Zelda felt an ache in his heart for her dear knight, wondering if he ever doubted his role as hero after he woke up, if he ever despised the burden handed to him all over again. She wanted him to know that his sacrifices would never be forgotten. Perhaps better suited for another time.

Daruk thought for a moment before gazing back at Yunobo, manning the controls of Vah Rudania with shaky confidence at best, but still pushing forward towards Goron City. He smiled, turning back to his little Hylian friends. “That boy over there … I see so much of myself in him. When I was just a pebble, I was scared, just like him! All I ever wanted to do was make a difference, but I thought that I was way too weak to do anything. It took a lot of personal training and growth to get to be the Goron Champion everybody knew me for. It was worse than any death I ever could have suffered.”

Link and Zelda listened intently.

“All that I ever wanted as a kid was to be told that I already had everything I needed to become mighty. Not just inside, but out. I had to find that out on my own, but that kid … the very least I could do for him was give him someone to boost his spirits. Light a fire under his ass and show him that he’s not the weakling he thinks he is. Once he has that … well, he can be any sort of hero that he wants. And I think that's worth it.” Daruk pointed over at the Goron Heroes with a laugh, “Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s him towering over me in one hundred years! I don’t have a single doubt!” 

Daruk let out a long belly laugh, and it was contagious enough to have Link and Zelda spill over as well. The three enjoyed a moment of happiness, undeterred by the fact that tonight would probably be the last night that they would ever see one another. There were no words, no assurances that everything would be alright. Link knew that a Yunobo would be a perfect Champion, one that would go down as a legend just as his predecessor did. Zelda knew that there were no apologies left to say to him, nothing needed to be said to know that he forgave her.

That’s just the kind of Goron that the Mighty Daruk was.

The rest of the trip back to Goron City was spent reminiscing on times gone past. The three sat together now, dangling their feet off the bridge, and laughing as they shared stories of their times together. Everything was so peaceful, so right, that they had almost forgotten why they were all together tonight. A silent sadness set in when Rudania finally rested to a stop closer to the city then it had ever been.

From all the way up there, Daruk could make out the forms of his Goron brothers coming out of their homes, staring confused up at the towering beast. His heart soared. To see that the Goron people had persevered this long filled his heart with a pride that he could never explain. This pride was suddenly replaced with a sharp pain in his chest. He leaned forward with a grunt of pain as his form began to fade once again.

“Daruk!” Zelda exclaimed, reaching out her arm to help before he stopped her.

“It’s … alright, Princess. Time is catching up with me, I guess.” He flashed her a smile, still brimming with pride and joy, “My bond with Vah Rudania broke a long time ago. I’ve been keeping myself around to show Yunobo the ropes, but … it might be coming.” He admitted, though no explanation was needed, before rising to his feet with a groan.

Zelda felt a breath hitch in her chest, but quickly snuffed it out with a hard swallow– he wouldn’t want this. She opened her mouth to speak, when she saw Yunobo approaching, she silenced herself. Daruk turned, following the princess's eyes to his predecessor, a Goron forged from the same vein as him, and gave him a knowing look that told the young one everything he needed to know.

Yunobo bore a grim look on his face. He had only just met Daruk a little over a week ago, yet he felt as if he’d been with him his own life. Yunobo never had a true family outside of his brothers in Goron City. He saw a nurturing mentor in his uncle, and for a moment, he wondered if he was even ready to say goodbye.

Daruk interrupted his thoughts immediately, as if he knew exactly what he was thinking. “Now, don’t you go crying on me, big guy. I’ve given you everything you need.” He assured him, stepping forward to meet him. “You’ve got the Goron spirit, Yunobo. And the best part is, so does everybody down there in the city. And every Goron in Hyrule. It just takes one, big guy. And you’re that one.” He spread his arms and wrapped them around his kin, and Yunobo quickly returned the hug, burying his face into his shoulder. 

“Make me proud, Yunobo.” Daruk whispered, quiet enough so only Yunobo could hear.

“I will. I promise.” Yunobo whispered back.

Daruk stepped back, turning towards Link and Zelda as his feet and legs began to fade away, taking on the wispy appearance of a departed spirit. “Well! Looks like this is it, huh?” He grinned down at them, his smile never wavering. Daruk had always been amused at how small Hylians stood when next to him. He usually felt a protective instinct around them, like he needed to use his Goron advantage to ensure his friend’s safety. But right then, when he looked at the proud Hyrulean Princess and her heroic knight that saved her kingdom …

He knew that they would be just fine without him. 

“Princess? You hold onto the little guy, you'll always be protected around him ...” He chuckled, “And I think he needs you, too.”

Zelda smiled while blinking back tears. “I’ll be sure to keep him around a bit longer.” she admitted with a giggle. 

“And Link?” Daruk turned to him and paused, trying to think of what to say to his dear friend. There was so much he’d already said that he figured most things didn’t need to be said again. Eventually, he found three words that would convey everything he needed to tell him. Raising his fist to the Hylian knight, he smiled wide before saying …

“Keep them safe.”

Link smirked back, pressing his fist against Daruk’s own massive knuckles. “Of course.”

Daruk smiled wide, his cheeks balling up high and pinching his eyes shut. The other three didn’t even notice that he had already begun to fade up to his middle. Even as his form was vanishing from this mortal coil, his smile held steadfast, up until finally there was nothing left but the green fires that held his noble spirit. Without warning, these balls of divine flame shot into the sky, leaving trails of lingering light, before cresting over his stone likeness before it disappeared from sight.

As the three passengers of Vah Rudania stood in silence, the sun began to break over the mountain range, signaling the start of a new day. The light cascaded over the rocky terrain before finally falling on Daruk’s statue. Link, Zelda, and Yunobo took a moment to lament and honour the memory of their comrade. 

Daruk of the Gorons was one of a kind. There was a chance that nobody would ever match up to his stature in this age or the next. Such a kind soul could only have been born within the mountain in the embrace of Din’s warm love. But, as Yunobo stood in the new light of the sun, he knew that he would give everything he had to measure up to his ancestor. No more fears, no more tears.

Yunobo would become the Champion that Daruk knew he could be.

And there was something he had to do first.

* * *

Bludo was not a morning person, and being woken up at the crack of dawn to find Rudania at the gates was one thing. But then to be told that Yunobo was the one behind Vah Rudania’s strange behavior? This was not how to get on his good side. Link and Zelda shielded their eyes as he beat Yunobo over the head over and over with his cane, yelling Goron curses at him for endangering the city in such a way.

Luckily, Link and Zelda were there to help explain, since Bludo did not want to give the younger Goron the time of day. The elder was apprehensive, but in addition to Yunobo’s title of Goron Champion, hearing about Daruk was at least enough to stop him from walloping the poor boy any further.

While Bludo was still against celebrating such a foolish decision, the people of Goron City clearly thought otherwise. They immediately set to work organizing a celebration for such an event, complete with food, drink, and song. Yunobo felt his heart swell, feeling silly for thinking his brothers would think any less of him, and a bit overwhelmed by their support at the same time.

However, Link and Zelda were acutely aware that they wouldn’t be able to stay to enjoy the festivities. Time was still of the essence, not only in visiting the other Divine Beasts, but in the fireproof elixirs that kept them safe from the burning up in the extreme heat of Death Mountain.

“Awww, not even for a bit?” Yunobo whined, “C’mon, I’m sure somebody has a fireproof elixir they can spare for the Princess of Hyrule. I'll even ask around, goro.”

Zelda giggled, but still shook her head, “I’m sorry, there’s simply too much to do. Link and I must make haste to Akkala. We have a friend waiting there for us, and it would be rude to make them wait.”

Yunobo let out a dramatic sigh, “I see … Well, no use complaining. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you both during the ceremony in Hyrule Castle.” He chuckled, bringing his hands to his face in a giddy manner. “That feels so weird to say! That place always felt like a fairy tale ever since I was born!”

Link laughed with him, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “I look forward to seeing you! I’ll treat you to a drink when you get there to make up for this, I promise.”

Yunobo gave Link a thumbs up. “I’ll hold you to that, goro!”

The farewell was quick and painless, but only because two Hylians knew that it would only be a matter of time before they saw their friend again. For the time being, it was back to the road. Truth waited for them in Foothill Stable, and Link knew that the animal was anxious to get back on the road.

Two Divine Beasts had chosen their New Champions. Only two remained. But first, a trip to Akkala was needed. Purah and Robbie awaited them, and a new era of Sheikah tech was waiting to be ushered into the present.


	7. Chapter 7

Zelda had always enjoyed the scenery of Akkala, and today was no exception.

Akkala, the northeasternmost province of Hyrule, was constantly in a state of perpetual autumn. It’s trees sported the most lovely shades of red, brown, orange and yellow for most of the year, only dropping off once the snow dusted the hills. The air was always crisp too, like a cool Harvestfall afternoon, and was never too hot even in the summer months.

However, the Akkala Zelda knew one hundred years ago was very different– not in scenery, no, there was still plenty of that to go around. But what was once a thriving cultural hotspot for royals and socialites was now eerily quiet, the wind rustling through the trees usually being the only sound one could hear on a typical day. Truth be told, it was much sweeter on the ears than some pompous airbag rambling on and on about how great he was, hoping to score big with the Princess of Hyrule and gain some well-earned credibility among the upper crust. She almost preferred it this way, if she wasn't also acutely aware that the citadel was now the final resting place to the last of the Hylian militia.

The two had made a brief stop to the stable in South Akkala for supplies, and now the sun was beginning to make its way west in the sky as they made their way up the road due north through the Shadow Pass. It was a lovely wooded trail with a colourful canopy of leaves overhead. Zelda sat astride Truth, who was no doubt happy to finally be free from the confines of that stuffy stable in Eldin. Link had offered Zelda the spot up in the saddle again, insisting that he’d rather she keep her energy up, and that he truly did not mind walking. 

She appreciated those small gestures, as she did most things that he did for her. It was hard to imagine the time before, when she resented him so much that it hurt to even look at him. Now when she saw him, she couldn’t help but feel a swell in her chest, feeling light as air. It was so foreign to her, this infallible repose he provided, like nothing that she had ever experienced before with anyone else.

She was broken from her deep thought as Truth began to prance, bouncing between a walk and a job, wobbling Zelda in the seat. Link turned, confused, tugging lightly on the reins, trying to get the horse to behave and obey. The animal shook his mane in sudden protest, pawing his hooves into the dirt part “C’mon, Truth! What’s gotten into you?” He chided, but Truth only snorted to cement his stubbornness, not moving another inch.

Zelda leaned to the side, trying to get a good look at the horse’s face. “Perhaps he’s tired? Should we rest?”

Link folded his arms across his chest. “No, that’s not it. Truth’s got the stamina of a … well, a horse I suppose.” He retorted with a chuckle, “You know what I mean– I’m sure he’s got plenty of energy. Probably more than usual from…” Link began to trail off as he glanced out at the field that the brightly colored trees opened up to. The grass was long, blowing to and fro with the wind that a herd of wild horses grazed on freely. As he gazed out at what his horse would immediately recognize as a golden opportunity, Link began to realize what was bothering him.

Link laughed quietly, reaching up and passing the reins to Zelda who returned a confused glance as he scratched behind the steed’s ear. “I see. I getcha, pal …” He whispered to his companion before grabbing onto the saddle. “Could you just move ahead a bit, Princess?” Link asked with bright blue eyes.

“Hmm? Oh, yes.” Zelda nodded, moving forward in the saddle carefully as to not scare the horse.

“Thank you.” Link responded, before placing a foot into the stirrup and hoisting himself onto the saddle. He rested just behind the Princess, and she could feel a blush spread across her face as she felt him so incredibly close to her person. “Sorry, Princess. But it looks like Truth here would like to go on a run with his friends.”

“On a run with–?” Before she was able to finish her question, she was cut off as Link took both her hands, placing them on the horn of the saddle. Once he made sure the princess was safe, he kicked into Truth’s side, hard enough to spur the steed on. 

And spur him on he did. Zelda could only cry out as the horse burst into a gallop, accelerating impossibly fast as he veered off the path and into the field. The rolling ocean of grass did nothing to stop him, folding aside as he shot through the open plains, tossing his head letting out a joyful whinny as he felt the wind in his mane.

“L-Link!!” Zelda cried out, squeezing her eyes shut as she held onto the horn for dear life while she bounced in the saddle. “Link, it’s too fast!”

“Nonsense!! I’ve got you!!” Link called out over the sound of hooves thundering against the ground, his elbows tightening around her to keep her in place, “Just hold on!!”

Zelda suddenly became keenly aware of Link’s presence behind her, and she could feel his arms which held Truth’s reins wrapped around her in a half-embrace and the warmth of his torso radiating onto her back. She felt that familiar safe feeling return, and she slowly opened her eyes to behold the sight before her.

Truth sped through the field at tremendous speeds unlike anything she had seen from the horse as of yet. Link had boasted of his horse’s speed and stamina, but this was the first time she’d ever ridden at such a gait. It was almost hard to open her eyes with the wind whipping past, but she eventually got used to it, squinting her eyes to keep from drying out.

She let out a gasp as Link pulled on the reins, causing Truth to turn sharply at his command. Zelda watched as Truth ran towards the rushing herd of wild horses, eventually joining in with them as the cacophony for rumbling hooves grew louder. Truth eventually matched the speed of the herd, running as freely as he once had before he met Link.

Zelda watched in wonder as the horses whinnied a greeting to one another around her. She marvelled at the sight of wild beasts congregating in such a way, fascinated by the way they communicated with one another. But it wasn’t the thing that she focused on the most. That would be Link behind her, yipping and hollering with joy as Truth sped through the plains with his brethren. The animals seemed to regard him as one of their own as they responded to his calls.

Zelda couldn’t help but be amazed at how different Link was from that day he fell in battle outside Fort Hateno. Not in obvious ways– of course. He was still steadfast in his duties, he was still a noble and respectful knight, and he was still incredibly skilled in combat against any foe. That was certain. But he had changed in smaller, unquantifiable ways. Like the way his eyes glistened as he looked her way, or the way that his smile shone twice as bright. Or more remarkably, how easily his voice found him when they were together. 

Zelda could see that Link had come to feel at home in the wilds of Hyrule in his new life. His protection of her was, right up until the end, a job after all. Yet, here he was, acting as her knight even when the very title held no meaning. Why, she could not yet understand. But in that moment, she didn’t care. All she knew was that no matter what he was he would always be a loyal friend to her, steadfast and true.

A true friend.

* * *

Truth had been thoroughly tuckered out after his romp in the fields. So much so that he refused to continue the trip up to Robbie’s until tomorrow morning. Link attempted to reason with the seal bay, bargaining with carrots and apples in return for safe passage to the northern edge of Akkala before the sun completely disappeared below the horizon, but the steed was having none of it. Link eventually gave up trying to reason with Truth, and Zelda agreed that they had had enough excitement for today and deserved a rest. 

They would camp out in a small forested area next to Ordorac Quarry, a small dig operation in the old days of Hyrule. Once morning came, the two would set out first thing in the morning. Link was carefully rotating a cut of meat for himself over his campfire, having already made the princess her meal.

Zelda bit into her steak hungrily, surprised by how juicy the meat was as the meat gushed around her lips. She promptly wiped her mouth, afraid of seeming rude. “My goodness, that flavour is certainly something!”

Link snickered, carefully flipping his own meal in the pan. “It’s a lot of trial and error, but once you get the right spice mix, you never have to worry about flavour out here.” He explained, pulling out his own personal mix and carefully seasoning the cut of beef.. “I’m glad you like it.”

She nodded with a smile. “Of course.” Zelda spoke, before biting into her steak, still wrapped in leaves to keep from dirtying her hands. Eating without proper cutlery and dishes was still awkward, but it didn't slow Link down in the slightest.

Zelda chuckled as she continued to eat. “I can’t believe how fast he goes. I’ve never gone that fast before, not in my entire life!” She exclaimed with a laugh.

Link smiled back at her, carefully saucing his food. “That was just playtime. He can really move if you need him to.” He said, gazing over at the horse where it stood next to a nearby tree, gazing off into the brush.

“I can’t imagine riding faster than that!” Zelda exclaimed, leaning in for emphasis, “I could barely keep my eyes open!”

“Well, it does help if you have something to protect your eyes.” He responded, holding a hand up to his brow to accentuate, “I usually wear a hood. You’d do well to relearn to ride. I remember you knew a bit.”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “ _ A bit _ , yes. I don’t know how much you remember, but I recall more times lying flat on my behind than actually sitting in the saddle.”

Link let out a laugh, picking up his food and wrapping it up in another leaf. “Still, it’s pretty liberating to ride on your own.” He retorted, gazing off into the woods, “It’ll take some practice but you’ll …” Zelda heard him begin to trail off, watching his eyes drift off into the distance, as if he might find the words in the darkening forest, before finishing, “... you’ll love it.”

Zelda nodded with a small smile, “I suppose it would be best. Though I don’t believe that Truth is the best candidate to learn how to ride. He seems rather wild while I’m on him, but that may just be because he doesn’t trust me like he trusts you. Perhaps we should-”

Suddenly, she was cut off by Link, his tone stern and dour, his hand raised slightly to silence her. “Princess, I need you to listen to me.”

“Hmm?” Her eyes met his, unsure what he was talking about. The intense look on his face answered her question immediately. His brow was furrowed, still gazing off into the woods behind her and not taking his eyes off that spot. Something was wrong. “Wh-What is it?”

“I …” Link started, but quickly took a deep breath as he sat his food down. “I don’t want you to get scared, because it’ll know. They always know, and that’s the key, is to be brave, okay?”

“Link, I don’t know what you’re-”

“There’s a Lynel in the forest.” Zelda felt her insides turn to ice. She slowly began to turn to face it before he stopped her. “No. Don’t look. Don’t act like you know it’s there. Okay?”

“Y-Y-Yes …” She snapped her attention back to him, swallowing her saliva as her joy was replaced with a cold, bottomless fear.

Lynels were feared all across Hyrule as one of the mightiest monsters in all the land. Part lion, part man, part horse, these beasts were a cut above the primitive species such as Bokoblins and Moblins. Lynels were savage, ruthless beasts, but they were incredibly smart. They had been shown to have the mind to forge weapons and armour, were insanely calculated solo hunters, and some had even been shown to speak the Hylian tongue.

So, to be told that a Lynel had snuck up on their camp, anyone else would be considered good as dead. And truthfully, Zelda was not fully convinced that they were not, judging from the look on Link’s face.

“Okay … okay.” Zelda tried to slow her breathing, but her eyes still conveyed a deep terror of the impending doom lurking just behind her in the dark of the woods.

“Alright. Listen very carefully.” Link spoke in an unusually slow cadence, picking his food up and taking a quick bite as he tried to act natural. “I’m gonna go unhitch Truth. Then I’m gonna get you on his back. And then you’re gonna ride him to Robbie’s.”

Zelda swallowed again before chiming in. “B-But what about you? Link, I’m not le-”

“While you’re retreating, I’m going to fight it off. I’ve handled these guys before– don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up with you and be there by sunrise.” He was standing now.

Zelda stared up at him like he’d just grown a second head. “Are … Are you mad? Th-That’s a killing machine! He’ll kill you, Link!”

Link shook his head and began to move slowly over to his horse. “Well, he can certainly try. Worst comes to worst, I’ll give him the slip.”

“But what if you can’t?” She protested, hands balled up on her lap, “What if it catches you? What will yo-”

“This is not a negotiation, Zelda!” Link raised his voice, the reins gripped tightly in his hand, causing Zelda to flinch at his words. She had never heard him speak like that to her before, and right then it felt like he commanded more presence than her, the Princess of Hyrule.

Link glanced over at the brush, now seeing the gleaming eyes and teeth of the ferocious monster reflected in the campfire’s light. Link took a deep breath, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to them while he walked the horse over to her. “I … I am not going to risk the future of Hyrule because you want to make sure I’m safe. This is my job, Princess. Please let me do it.” He gave her a stern look, waiting a moment before reassuring her once more.

“I promise. I will be fine.”

Zelda opened her mouth to protest but caught it in her throat. He was right. This was his job, to protect her and ensure the lasting prosperity of Hyrule. And though it hurt, she knew that she needed to be escorted to safety. 

And he promised that he’d be fine. She’d hold him to that.

“Alright.” She nodded reluctantly, “What … Wh-What should I do?”

“Just follow my lead.” Link instructed her, offering his hand to her, not making any sudden movements, slowly pulling Zelda to her feet.

Link carefully unclipped his Hylian shield from the saddle as Zelda hoisted herself up, continuing to look over her shoulder to eye the brush intently. He was surprised to see one this far south. Most Lynels up here gathered in Deep Akkala, in Rok Woods and by Skull Lake. He figured it was either running out of sources of food to hunt …

Or the monster was hunting them for sport. Either way, it spelled bad news for them.

Link approached Truth from the front, cupping the horse’s enormous head in his hands. “Now listen to me, pal. You get her to Robbie’s safe and sound. And don’t you dare look back, you hear me? This isn’t the end.” Truth responded with a puff of hot air and Link chuckled, “Good boy.” He encouraged him, rubbing his velvety nose with his palm.

Link could now hear the beast rumbling from across the clearing, as could Zelda, who’s hands had taken to trembl, the reins rattling in her hands as she prepared to flee. “L-Link …”

Link glanced up at her, preparing to set Truth loose. “Yeah?” He whispered, his voice low and reassuring.

“I’m … I-I’m scared …” She admitted, closing her eyes tight to prevent tears from spilling forth.

Link glanced back at the forest as he heard hooves crunching against the twigs and leaves in the brush. He looked back at her, and in a second, his face had changed. He bore a bright smile, just like when they had been speeding through the fields together. It almost made her wish that she could stay and fight alongside him.

He uttered one last phrase to her as the Lynel’s head broke through the brush.

“I’m sorry.”

And with that, he ran past her, giving a sharp slap to Truth’s hindquarters. The horse let out a loud whinny before darting into the trees and towards the main trail, leaving Link and Lynel far behind. The last thing Zelda heard of Link was a courageous battle cry, which was quickly drowned out by the sound of the Lynel’s earthshaking roar.

Zelda ducked low on the horse, holding onto the reins for dear life as Truth expertly maneuvered the forest in the dark of night without her guidance or instruction. He weaved around every tree, keeping Zelda’s life in safe hands. Zelda, however, was still reeling from the last couple minutes.

Her heart felt as though it had been ripped in twain. She felt like she had only just got him back, just finally felt that happiness once again. And now she was leaving him behind, leaving him to whatever fate the Goddess had dealt him against such an overwhelming foe. He could be hurt … he could be killed! And he was … was …

He was her closest and dearest friend.

Zelda’s head snapped up. “N-No!” She cried out before reefing on Truth’s reins, determined to stop the animal. She didn’t care how much trouble she got in. She didn’t care if she got hurt. To her, this option– to retreat– was to betray her own instincts. To leave him behind in that moment was worse than death. That man laid down his life to save her, to save this kingdom. To hell with it all if he did not get to see it born anew by her side.

Truth fought against her protests all he could, the steel of his bit biting at the corners of his mouth, but eventually reared back with a wild whinny at the edge of the forest with the road in view. Zelda lost her hold of the reins from the sudden stop and tumbled out of the saddle and onto her back ungracefully. Zelda gasped, attempting to retrieve the wind that had been knocked from her, before trying with all her might to scramble back to her feet. She reached the edge of the forest before stopping short.

Zelda had never been a fighter. She had lived a rather sheltered life under her father’s watchful eye, and once she gained some semblance of independence, she had used it towards the betterment of her research, and usually had Link by her side to protect her. She had never been one to rush into danger without a plan, or even somebody else to back her up for that matter.

But she didn’t have a choice right now.

* * *

Link grunted loudly as he blocked yet another blow from the snarling beast. Its sword crashed against his shield with a mighty clang, sending shockwaves through his bones, and he felt himself skidding backwards from the force of its savage blow. The knight panted audibly, trying to catch his breath in between the monster’s attacks.

It was a Silver Lynel, a highly intelligent and powerful breed of Lynel. He had only ever encountered one once before on his travels, but did not go toe-to-toe with it like he was doing now. It wielded a gigantic flat sword with multiple wicked notches for trapping the opponent's weapons in for easy disarming, and a circular shield which appeared to just be a double axe head affixed to a brace. The metal was battered and scuffed from use, no doubt from felling scores of unlucky Hylian travelers.

Each one of his blows felt like a punch from a Hinox, and Link could feel himself buckling under his strength. But that only meant that he needed to take every opportunity he was presented with. As the Lynel pulled back to ready another attack, Link sprang into action. He darted towards the Lynel, and before it could counterattack, Link dropped to the ground to slide under him. He swung his sword at the backs of its legs, hoping to cripple its mobility, before popping up behind it. The Lynel roared in pain and threw his sword arm in a wide circle in hopes to catch his prey by surprise. Link, light on his feet, hopped backwards, the blade narrowly missing the tip of his nose. 

The Lynel curled his lip, baring his fangs at the deceptive Hylian. Link cursed under his breath. It would take more than that to bring the beast down. Lynels’ muscles were dense and fibrous–built for battle– and although he met his mark, he wasn't able to sever anything critical to its movement. Only continued assaults could hope to hinder such a bloodlusted monster.

The Silver Lynel snarled in his direction, slamming its sword into its own shield as if to provoke Link into attacking him once more, daring him to try that little trick again. The Hero knew better. Lynels weren't stupid, especially not the silver variety. This beast was up to something. Any lesser Lynel would have attempted a killing blow already, but this one was taking his time. Link had no doubt– this one was toying with him.

The two stood at a stalemate, the Lynel refusing to attack and Link refusing to walk into the monster’s trap. He considered running, to try and make it to the road, but he knew that without Truth he was a dead man walking. He was left with little choice in the matter.

There was only one thing he could do.

Link accepted the Lynel’s challenge with a roar of his own, bashing the Master Sword against the Hyrule family crest emblazoned on his shield before charging forward. The Lynel met his attack and their two blades drew sparks as they collided, locked in a struggle to overpower the other. Link grit his teeth, fighting to keep his blade from slipping into those deadly notches of the Lynel's sword while holding his shield close to his body, waiting for the perfect moment to arrive. 

Link felt his body bending back, being pushed closer and closer to oblivion. He refused to yield, however, stepping forward into his defense and pushing the Lynel back still. 

The Lynel growled in frustration, finally done playing around with the weak little Hylian. It tossed its shield aside, grabbing onto his weapon with both hands to double his power.

And in that moment, Link made his move.

Once the Lynel had put all its force behind the attack, enough to break every bone in his puny body, Link conceded, letting his attack go and jumping to the side as the Lynel’s attack went crashing into the earth. In one fluid motion, Link swung his shield arm and made precise contact with the beast’s face, the bottom tip of the shield driving far into one of its eyes.

Needless to say, the Silver Lynel reeled back in shock and a spray of blood. The monster let out a horrible cry of pain as its eye was destroyed instantly from the force of Link’s blow, swinging its arm towards its assailant. Link pulled back and tried to defend, but wasn’t able to make it in time and felt the desperate attack make contact. Link felt a sharp pain as he soared across the field from the force, his shield slipping from his grip and tumbling through the grass and out of sight.

Link hit the ground hard, rolling multiple times before finding his feet again and skidding to a halt. He gripped his sword tightly, body heaving with each breath as he slowly rose to meet the wounded beast, thanking the Goddess that he kept a hold of the Master Sword.

The Lynel was less happy, roaring in a feral rage as it rose shakily to its feet. Link knew that he had dealt enough damage to the beast, now it would just be a matter of time before-

“Link?!”

The cry drew the attention of both combatants. Link, his ears falling, had never been so unhappy to hear Princess Zelda's angelic voice calling out his name. How was she still here? Why did she come back?! Link’s gaze snapped back to the Lynel and he felt his stomach drop to his toes.

The Lynel ... it was smiling at him. It had been watching long enough to know that the other Hylian must be his traveling partner. And it knew all too well how courageous and self-sacrificing the legendary hero could truly be. It turned to face the voice that had just sounded off, and Link could see it beginning to gather energy for an explosive fireball which crackled in its throat.

“No …” Link muttered before digging the toe of his boot into the dirt, sprinting in the Lynel’s direction, determined to stop its attack. “No, no, no, no, NO!” Link dove forward, grabbing fistfuls of the beast’s fur and climbing up its torso. Eventually he found himself face to face with the demon, and– in a bold and incredibly stupid manuever– shoved the forearm of his shield arm inbetween the beast’s jaws. He pushed as far back as he could get to stop the beast from gathering the necessary magic in its throat to levy an attack towards an unsuspecting Zelda. 

The obvious downside to this strategy, of course, was Link’s position. Link grit his teeth as the Silver Lynel’s jaws clenched around his arm. He forced himself to bite down on his tongue to wrestle his own screams and keep them from erupting out of his lungs. The pain was unbearable, like having your arm trapped in a white-hot vice covered in iron barbs. Link’s feet kicked at the beast’s body, trying to free himself from its death grip, but it held tight and firm.

However, this perilous maneuver presented the knight with an opportunity. The monster, who was unable to defend himself at this range, was at the mercy of Link's sword which made desperate slashes across his chest. Bright red blood welled up and flowed openly from its new wounds, matting its white fur into a crimson mess. The beast yowled in pain, only letting up for a moment before biting down twice as hard in protest. 

This finally made Link cry out, watching in horror as the Lynel's teeth penetrated his leather bracer and sunk into the flesh underneath, threatening to render the limb completely useless with a sickening crunch. The hero's blood began to pool into its maw, running down the lips and chin of the Lynel, who savoured his screams as it watched the Hylian runt writhe in pain.

Link was just as stubborn however, and began slashing away at the beast with wild abandon, disregarding all training he ever learned in the academy for knighthood. How could one even begin to train for something like this? Eventually the Lynel came to realize that taking the arm of the Hero was not worth the onslaught of attacks from the sacred blade and his death grip on Link’s arm released. 

It was a short relief, however, as before Link could even breath, the Lynel’s enormous hand clenched around his wounded arm, pulling another pained cry from Link. In one swift motion, the Lynel hurled the Hylian into the woods with a full rotation of its shoulder, hoping to kill the hero in an instant.

Link felt the wind whip past him like he had been blown out of a cannon, muffling every sound into white noise as he soared through the air. He was white-knuckling the grip of the Master Sword, determined to keep it with him, unlike his shield from earlier. In that split second, he only thought about Zelda, thinking about her face, her laughter, her voice ...

And that she was in grave danger.

“Zel-!” His voice died in his throat when he felt his back slam into a tree, the trunk splintering from the force of the impact. His head flew back and knocked hard against the sturdy oak and–

It all went black.

* * *

Zelda had heard the sickening crack of branches and the choked yelp of her knight, followed by the deafening silence that signalled the end of his fight. She held her breath, pressing her back up against a tree, hiding herself from view as she tried to steady the rapidly flailing heartbeat pounding in her chest, fearing that the monster could hear it battering the inside of her ribs.

The princess was overwhelmed in every sense of the word. She had formulated a plan before coming back here but, truth be told, she had hoped that Link would have soundly defeated the beast by now. Now that the dust had settled and her knight was nowhere to be seen, she could only pray that he had made a strategic retreat. Which meant the Lynel had only one target now– herself.

Her plan would need to be modified, and quickly. Half of it would hinge on the small traveler’s sword, the one she had pulled from Truth’s saddlebag earlier for protection, and the other half was dependent on the Sheikah Slate strapped to her hip. She knew that if she could use the runes properly and catch the beast off-guard, she could strike a killing blow before the beast could counterattack. She never fancied herself a warrior, unlike Link, but she knew that she was cunning enough to hold her own against other monsters. 

Never a Lynel, though. Zelda was unsure if she could compete in a test of wit against such a remarkable monster.

She felt herself jump a bit as the beast suddenly began stomping its hooves. She dared to peek around the edge of the trunk providing her cover, and saw the beast clearly for only a moment before the campfire they had built was snuffed out by a massive hoof. It suffocated the embers and plunged Zelda and the rest of the small clearing into the pitch black darkness of night.

Zelda did her best to readjust to the dark, slowly blinking her eyes until they could pick up what little moonlight made it through the canopy of trees. She snuck another glance around the tree when her eyes were acclimated, and could clearly make out the outline of the massive monster heading her way. Zelda snapped back into her hiding place, listening carefully for the sound of his footfalls, muffled by the decaying forest floor as it approached. 

She inched around the trunk of the tree, making sure to move with each step it made as it stalked the woods for her. As soon as she could see that the monster had passed, she summoned all her courage before breaking cover and slinking from her hiding place. She remained low and followed the beast silently as to not alert it to her presence. Still, her knees and ankles trembled with every step.

Zelda gripped the handle of the sword with one hand and the Sheikah Slate with the other. She knew that the Lynel had much faster reflexes than she did, and in order to get the drop on it, the Stasis Rune would be needed to buy her those few crucial seconds needed to attack. 

The rune was quite remarkable, though the specifics of how it worked hadn't exactly been figured out yet. It was able to completely freeze the momentum of an object or, in cases such as this, completely freeze living creatures and monsters for a fraction of time, hence the name Stasis. That would give her about five to six seconds to jump onto the monster’s back and deliver a killing blow, plunging the blade into its heart or its head from behind. A cowardly tactic– she admitted this– but it was all that she could do to survive, it was necessary cowardice. 

She approached slowly, now only a couple yards away from the hunter, and from this distance she could clearly see the well defined and rippling muscles of its flank shifting and rolling under its striped fur. But it was the only option she had. With purpose, Zelda readied the Stasis Rune, holding the slate up so she could see the Lynel’s form illuminated on the screen, lined up in her sights…

And felt her mouth run dry as a dry twig crunched underneath her boot.

The beast reacted immediately, letting out a ferocious roar as it spun around to face her, rancid breath and spittle flying past her. It had suspected that it was being followed, but now it had caught her red-handed.

Zelda could only manage a small whimper before the monster’s snarling teeth, it’s face and snout were covered in blood that she couldn’t discern if it was its own, or if it was Link’s. The thought of it being the latter made her stomach turn, her imagination running rampant with what could have possibly become of her knight. Shakily gripping the handle of her borrowed sword, made a desperate swing at the Lynel. Unfortunately, in her panic she had forgotten to pull the sword from its sheath, which was launched off the blade and through the air from the force of her swing. It collided into the Lynel’s forehead, which did little more than further enrage the beast rather than harm it.

Agitated by her attempted attack, the Lynel lunged forward to end it, massively muscled arms ending in ferocious claws zeroed in on her tiny body. However, either through quick thinking or instincts triggered by terror, Zelda pressed a finger to the screen of her slate. This activated the Stasis Rune and, in a flash of yellow light, froze the Lynel in place mid-attack. She was saved, but only for a couple seconds, there was no time to waste.

Zelda took her chance to escape.

* * *

To the Lynel, not even a fraction of a second had passed before its target vanished from sight. Its claws swiped at the empty air before it, drawing a confused growl from the beast. 

Most monsters would give up– their object permanence not developed enough to realize they had been fooled. But not a Silver Lynel. It was built to hunt, not just for food, but for sport. Its physical prowess and intellect knew no bounds. From past experience, it was familiar with the fact that Hylians were sneaky and conniving, using any trick in the book to evade his capture. Or they would begin to grovel and beg for their life, which was always made for an entertaining end to its hunts.

Its hulking shoulders dipped close to the ground, snout pressed to the spot Zelda had just stood. Its nostrils flared as it inhaled deeply, trying to pick up and track the scent of the Hylian female. Despite missing an eye, and even in the dark, the Lynel could clearly see the princess’s footprints in the soft dirt before him. Its eye followed the long strides through the fallen leaves as if she was running for her life into the woods.

The Lynel let out a growling chuckle, carefully following the path that she had mistakenly left for it. She may have gotten a few yards ahead, but now that she was on the run, this would be an easy kill to add to its trophy collection. Hylians couldn’t dream of reaching a Lynel’s top speed on foot alone.

The hunter followed the trail closely, watching as it turned around a nearby oak tree, the scent of her fear still burned in its nose. Surely she was right there, trying to conceal herself behind the body of the old hardwood. The Lynel gripped his sword tightly, and swung notch-first, hoping to catch her in the hook with killing intent …

But it only managed to gouge out a section of splintered wood from the trunk. Confused, the Lynel glanced down to see that the trail had suddenly ended. It’s nostrils flared once more. The scent remained strong.

Unbeknownst to the Lynel, but being bent over, staring perplexedly at the phantom trail, was exactly where Zelda wanted him. And though the Lynel didn’t know it yet, the Sheikah Slate’s versatility was all the advantage she needed to even the odds. Zelda had fled into the deepest part of the forest, and quickly scrambled up the tall oak to hide within its leaves. From there, she scanned the map on the slate, watching as the bright red dot representing her monstrous attacker followed her trail all the way into her trap.

With the monster now within range, Zelda spoke a small prayer to the Goddess Hylia before leaping from the tree’s branches and on top of the muscular, man-like torso of the Lynel. Using the momentum of her fall, she plunged the bronze sword directly between it’s shoulder blades, slicing through flesh and muscle, causing dark red blood to spurt up and spray over her front. Zelda held her breath, hoping that the deep wound proved fatal, or at least critical enough to down her pursuer.

Her heart dropped as the beast roared in pain, shaking itself left and right and bucking madly to get the damned Hylian off its back. The princess tried to hold tight to the handle of the sword, but even that failed her as the weak bronze suddenly snapped at the hilt. Zelda was thrown from its back, curling in on herself to brace for the impact of the ground. She cried out, feeling every bone in her body rattle around as she landed hard on her hip. Yet another plan to down the beast had failed.

The Lynel turned back to face the princess that had just wounded him in such an atrocious manner. It wanted nothing more in that moment then to tear her limb from limb, make an example out of her for sullying what should have been an easy hunt. It let out a pained roar, reeling back for a devastating two handed attack.

But Zelda thought quickly. Activating the Stasis Rune once again, she froze the Lynel, weapon in midair, and rendered the beast unable to attack. She immediately switched to the Magnesis Rune and looked through the screen of the Sheikah Slate, searching for anything nearby that she could summon to her aid. She scanned the area until she spotted the unmistakable red hue on the screen of something metal within the grass, only a couple meters away. She grabbed the mystery object out of the air, pulling it hastily towards her …

And grabbed Link’s shield out of the air, it’s bottom point splattered in drying blood.

Zelda gasped, suddenly feeling that pit in her stomach return. If his shield was discarded here, and not with him …

Was there a chance that she was truly alone in these woods? Was he not coming to save her?

Did he …

Even though her eyes stung with tears ready to bubble over, her thought was cut short as the Lynel was freed from stasis. It brought the weapon down and across her shield, the force of the blow sending her flying backwards with a shriek. 

Zelda clambered to her feet as fast as she could, stumbling in the mud for only a moment as she made her desperate retreat. She had one shot left at defeating this vile henchman of Ganon, a last resort that she had saved for just this moment. Zelda darted between the trees, her legs taking her as fast as they could as she weaved into a dense thicket, slipping easily between the copious amounts of tree trunks. The monster was slowed in its chase as it slammed its massive body against the natural wall of tree and brush, and Zelda prayed that it would be enough to lure him into her final trap.

Eventually, the princess burst into the open grass by the cliffs of the nearby quarry. There were tears in her tights from being snagged by various branches and thorns. She spun on her heel and pulled the Sheikah Slate out with Link’s shield up to protect herself. This was it. 

She heard the rumbling approaching, felt the vibrations in the ground through her boots, and watched as smaller trees were uprooted and tossed by the Lynel’s overwhelming power until finally it came into view. It bellowed in rage at the girl who had made such a fool of him, charging at full speed towards her. Zelda waited until the precise moment that he was about to charge through the heavy oaks that opened up to the clearing, and when the moment was right …

“Off with you.” She muttered, clicking the button on the side of the Sheikah Slate twice with her thumb.

The noise that the Lynel heard was deafening, and everything happened so fast that its mind couldn’t keep up. Two blinding explosions went off, one after the other on both sides of its body, followed by a loud crack that echoed through the forest. The last thing the Lynel saw were the two enormous oak trees, most likely weighing four or five times his weight, falling over towards it.

Zelda had stacked the whole deck. Even before entering the forest, she had found the ideal place to lay a trap for the monster. The two oaks bordering the clearing were in the perfect position to topple over onto the beast. All that Zelda needed to do was stuff two bombs into the knots of the tree, adjust the strength of the bombs for a controlled explosion, and detonate at the precise moment.

Zelda felt like she could cry from happiness as everything came together. The explosions went off at the exact moment, letting the trees topple inwards, and the Lynel’s thunderous roar was choked out as the heavy trees crushed the beast beneath the trunks. The colorful leaves spared Zelda the more violent details of the monster’s demise.

Relief washed over the princess like a tidal wave, knocking her to her knees as the shield dropped to the ground. Her hands quickly took to shake, or perhaps it was her whole body shuddering from her very core, and tears ran freely down her face. Then suddenly, and with overwhelming lucidity, she remembered.

Link.

“... L-Link!!” Zelda cried into the woods, desperately hoping for some sort of response, anything to tell her that he was alright. “Link!!! Link, where are you?!” She planted her palms to the grass below, attempting to lift herself off the ground, but her legs had already become heavy with fatigue. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward until her forehead brushed the cool grass, begging to hear something, even the slightest sign that he was coming. “Please!! P-Please … Link …” Her voice cracked as she sobbed, feeling in that moment like the loneliest girl in the entire world.

Until she heard the creaking of wood ahead of her.

Her head shot up, hoping to see her knight– most likely battered but still smiling. She wanted to see that bright smile that was still so new to her. But that isn’t what she saw.

The Lynel’s head poked out of the leaves from the toppled trees, still very much alive to Zelda’s despair. It slowly lifted the trees from its body, getting back up to its hooved feet. Its power surprised even itself as it pushed the makeshift trap aside, shaking the twigs and leaves from its back. It stood now, once again, at full height before its prey.

Zelda was at a loss. She had done everything she could, and her muscles refused to move another inch. She sat back on her calves, watching feebly as the Lynel planted its hands firmly on the ground, head low, horns angled towards her with its shoulders hunched. It pawed with its forefeet, sending dirt flying behind, preparing to charge once again to finish her off. 

Zelda closed her eyes one more time as the rumbling of hooves started towards her, and slowly, she raised her right hand. She was calling on the power of the Goddess Hylia, asking, and pleading, for it to return to her again. The holy symbol, Zelda’s Triforce of Wisdom, lit up on the back of her hand dimly as she attempted to seal away this monster to the Sacred Realm. 

However, as the Lynel barreled towards her on all six of its limbs, she knew that she had acted too late. Still, she put all of her faith in the Goddess, knowing she had done everything she could. If this was her fate, to have her life snuffed out in the woods of Akkala by such a monster, then she would welcome herself into the Goddess’s embrace. She breathed in, and then out, then …

She was shoved.

Her eyes snapped open in shock, time seeming to slow around her. What she saw was unbelievable. It was impossible. It was …

Link.

He had knocked her out of the Lynel’s path with his shoulder. His steely gaze never wavered from his opponent, eyebrows drawn downward intensely. An orange polyhedric barrier snapped up around him– Daruk’s Protection. His stance was wide, his palms out to grapple the charging beast.

He looked terrible, his left arm’s bracer was soaked in so much blood it was impossible to tell what injury he had sustained there and the left side of his face covered in blood from the cut that opened on his head when he hit that tree. But it didn’t matter; it was him, he was okay, he was alive. 

The Lynel slammed into Link’s barrier which shattered immediately on impact. Zelda shrieked as they made contact. Link had grabbed onto the monster’s horns, but the beast’s force was too great, and took the knight right off his feet. Zelda was sure the Lynel hadn’t been slowed in in the slightest as Link was scooped up in a rush of thunderous hoofbeats. And it still wasn't slowing down.

The two barreled off the edge of the cliff.

* * *

Link waited until the ground dropped off underneath the Lynel to release its horns from his grip, throwing his back towards the cliff face to allow him to slide down the wall to the bottom of the quarry. The Lynel’s momentum was enough to shoot him right over the cliff and ahead of Link who coasted down the quarry wall. Link watched as the Lynel kicked off of the opposite wall, leaving cracks where it’s hooves made contact, before landing in the quarry pit and turning to face him.

Link wasn’t as graceful when he finally reached the bottom, stumbling briefly, his fingers grazing the grass as he saved himself from falling over completely.

He had only been awake for a few minutes, and was still trying to get his bearings. Link had woken up in the pitch black, wondering if he’d died on impact. The throbbing in his head told him that Mipha’s magic had yet to activate. Once he heard Zelda’s voice calling out from the other side of the forest, he immediately sobered up. Luckily, his body had held up well, and he seemed to have made it just in time to save the princess. But there was no time for victories yet. 

Link looked around and immediately recognized this quarry, remembering where exactly he was. An idea began to formulate in his mind, a surefire way to stop the beast. 

To the Lynel’s surprise, Link flashed him a weak smirk before sprinting into the quarry, hoping to entice the monster into another chase. The Lynel stood paused, shocked that its prey would flee like such a coward. But his shock turned to rage, and the beast let out a wild roar that could stir the heavens before taking off towards the bastardly Hylian.

Meanwhile up on the cliffs, Zelda had regained her strength from the new burst of adrenaline and had crawled to the cliff’s edge to peer into the stone pit. Seeing Link run off prompted her to stand and follow the perimeter of the quarry, trying to keep an eye on the ensuing chase.. The quarry was separated by several large chunks of rock jutting out of the ground, as well as various tree trunks and debris that littered the ground. But then she spotted Link, running through the center of the quarry, his hands cupped around his mouth.

The shaken princess was tempted to call out to him, but stopped when she heard a distinct whistle carried on the wind. By the time she had figured out what he was doing, Truth had already responded to the call. The steed shot past her, jumping the cliff with his hooves grinding down the gradual rocky slope towards his master. From the clifftop Zelda could see the Lynel had sheathed its weapon, and was now speeding towards Link with a fireball brewing in its throat. 

The Lynel nearly stumbled on a recklessly sharp turn, uprooting a dead tree trunk in the process, its hooves clumsily pounding at the stone below. The monster was blind with rage, and had thrown out all finesse to secure this kill. Its throat burned brightly, stray flames licking at its lips from inside as the monster let loose its fiery attack. The fireball soared past Link and collided with one of the nearby boulders, blowing it to pieces in an instant.

Truth, unfazed by the Lynel’s attacks, finally arrived at Link’s position. Link grabbed onto Truth’s mane as he ran up alongside him, and pulled himself up into his saddle. With a pat and a “Hya!” they were off towards the northern side of the quarry at full tilt.

As Zelda watched him ride, she couldn’t help but wonder what his plan was. The Lynel was still on his tail, reaching top speed to match Truth, and the quarry had no exits on the north side. However, something still felt deathly familiar about this place. As if she had definitely been here before, but it had changed so much in one hundred years that she could hardly remember it now.

She thought nothing of it, though, taking off along the cliff to try to keep up with the action.

The quarry erupted with explosions for the first time since the original mining operation began. The Lynel was struggling to keep up with Link’s pace now, the rocky terrain not suitable for a heavy-set, hooved monster such as himself. Truth, on the other hand, was used to riding in difficult terrain, keeping his head low to maximize speed while taking each sharp turn with ease. He had to be if he was to be the hero’s horse.

Link took the opportunity to slow the Lynel down further. He retrieved his bow from Truth’s saddle and began peppering the beast with arrows. The Lynel let out a guttural howl as Link’s arrows pierced his skin, grabbing them and snapping them off at the head as they hit.

Soon, Link had reached his intended destination. He patted Truth on the neck for a job well done and hopped off while the horse was still moving, signalling the steed to head back to the Princess Zelda. He hit the ground running, reaching a wall of vines before taking a swipe at them with his sword. The vines dropped to the ground, revealing a stone passage that had been hidden by the flow of time.

Link looked back to see the Lynel approaching with another shot ready in its maw. Link cursed, his boots pounding into the stone tile of the tunnel as the fireball was sent flying his way. Link reached the end in the nick of time, dodging behind a nearby pillar as the fireball exploded within the tunnel, blowing his hair out of his ponytail and letting it lay wildly upon his head.

Link glanced into the tunnel only to be greeted by the Lynel charging full force down the passage. It was far too large to fit through the open doorway, but his speed was enough to slam through the stone archway like it was nothing. Link grabbed onto the monster’s side, riding it up the small flight of stairs before it began to topple over, dizzy from the blunt force trauma. The two collapsed into the spring and a huge splash of water accompanied them, filling the air with a fine mist.

Zelda was alerted to the splash, dashing over to the source of the noise. When she peered over the cliff, she immediately remembered where they were. She had been here before, long ago with Link.

The Spring of Power.

It was one of three ancient shrines unearthed by the Hyrulean people when excavating the earth. Zelda had visited all three as part of her training to unlock her sealing powers, but this one in particular she had some rather … blasphemous memories associated with it. 

Every action was to be watched by the massive statue of the Goddess, as if she herself would judge the winner of this battle.

Link gasped loudly once his head broke the surface, sputtering water and blood out of his mouth, having nearly been pinned by the Lynel under the water. He scrambled to put some distance between him and the flailing hooves of his downed opponent as it tried to stand back up. He had the beast right where he wanted it. He just needed to wait for the opportunity to present itself.

The two stood off, soaking wet, battered, and bloodied, watching the other’s actions intently and not daring to underestimate their opponent. However, in terms of mobility, the Lynel was less hindered by the water, which barely reached the bottom of its knees, compared to the Hylian knight, who was waist deep in the spring. In the end, it was the Lynel that gave in first, letting out a mighty roar and charging Link’s way.

Link immediately took up a defensive stance with the sacred blade, blocking and parrying the Lynel’s flurry of attacks. This is all he could manage for now, as his muscles were starting to refuse. It was all he could do to just raise his arm to block its attacks, let alone swing his sword.

Zelda could see Link giving out, her panic beginning to set in again. She felt it, that same desperate need to be by his side that got her into this horror show of a night in the first place. Yet she couldn’t push it out of her mind, it didn't feel right to stand by helplessly.

She was jostled from her trance as Truth’s snout poked into her back. “Oh! Truth, it’s you!” She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the horse’s head in a relieved embrace. 

“Please, please you must take me to Link.” She begged. Truth snorted in response, moving its head up and down in agreement. “Right, let’s go!”

Zelda hoisted herself into the saddle despite every limb screaming at her, and using all of her riding expertise she set off back along the cliff to get back down into the quarry.

Meanwhile in the Spring of Power, Link was struggling to get an upper hand on the monster. He felt most comfortable fighting while being light on his feet, able to skip across the ground and attack his foe from any angle. Fending off a monster such as this in waist-deep water was akin to fighting in mud. Link gave everything he could to defend himself from the Lynel’s assault, but in the end, it proved to not be enough. One of the Lynel’s blows broke through his guard, and the jagged blade ripped through the flesh on his chest, the leather inlay under his tunic only doing so much to stop the attack.

Link lost a grip of the Master Sword, which fell into the water at his feet. The Lynel, convinced that he had won, delivered a devastating punch to Link’s midsection. The blow was enough to send Link crashing into the nearby Goddess statue, defacing the pristine stone with his crimson blood.

Link’s breathing was ragged as he dragged himself along the statue’s front, pulling himself up in an attempt to get away from the monster. The Lynel let out a growling snicker, amused at how far the mighty hero had fallen, and by its own hand no less. 

Link propped himself up on the statue’s base, pulling himself free of the water below. He looked up at the Goddess, thanking her for bringing him to this very moment before turning back to face the monster one last time. Now beaten, bloodied and unarmed, Link could do nothing more than extend his arm, pointing a finger at the horrid creature.

The Lynel laughed again, a horrible cacophony of snarls and growls, before rearing upward to deliver the killing blow, water splashing all around him.

Link could only smirk as he brought his middle finger and thumb together …

And snapped.

The last thing that the Silver Lynel of Akkala heard was the deafening thundercrack of Urbosa’s Fury. The green lightning shot from the heavens, as if gifted from the Goddess herself. The bolt struck the surface of the water, and the beast was instantly shocked with an electric current strong enough to subdue a Molduga. It let out a horrible cry of pain, which slowly faded into a gurgling death rattle as the current shot through its body. 

Link watched contently as the Lynel eventually fell, the electricity fading and its rigid body falling limp as it crashed into the rippling water of the Spring of Power, completely lifeless. As the deed was done, Link felt his body grow heavy as well, begging for rest. He slumped against the statue, fading in and out of consciousness.

The next sound that he heard was hoofsteps only a few minutes later.

Then there was her voice.

“Link!” Zelda cried, hopping off Truth’s back and into the Spring of Power. She could feel the cold water biting at her skin just as she had felt before, but she couldn’t begin to care. The water sloshed around her, trying as it might to slow her from her goal of reaching Link’s form draped against the statue. She thanked the Goddess before her as she saw his chest gently rising and falling despite the grave-looking injury. She carefully took him into her arms, gasping at the amount of blood running over his tunic.

“Oh good Goddess, look at you …” Zelda could feel the tears biting at her eyes again as she propped his head up to look at her. “Link … Link, can you hear me? Please, say something!”

Zelda felt a wave of relief wash over her as his eyelashes fluttered and slowly opened to reveal those magnificently blue eyes. “... Hey … Zelda, are … are you …” He struggled to find the words, and she could tell that he was not all there in the slightest, staring both at and beyond her.

“I-I’m fine, I’m fine! Hylia’s blessing, what has it done to you?” Zelda hovered her hands over his wounds, afraid to touch him and wishing that she shared Mipha’s sacred gift. “Oh Link, I’m so sorry …”

“Zelda … you …” He muttered, his voice barely a whisper.

“It’s alright, I’m … I’m gonna get you help.” Zelda whistled for Truth, who flicked his ears at the strange tone but ultimately came trotting through the water to meet them.

“Princess, please … I …”

Zelda shook her head, “No Link, just stay still, I’m going to take you to Robbie’s. I’m going to-”

She was cut off as Link suddenly lurched forward. She felt his hands upon her back, and time began to slow as he pulled her close, leaned in ...

And kissed her.

He smelled of blood and sweat, but she couldn’t tell in that moment even if she wanted to. There was no slap nor protest on her end. Only a small moan of surprise as his lips locked with hers. Her feelings for Link erupted within her mind, and every single doubt she ever had was suddenly vindicated with a single, pure action. She kissed him back, unable to keep herself from indulging in such a selfish and affectionate act.

As soon as he touched her, everything seemed to click. Everything made sense. It was like he had given her a map, leading to the deepest reaches of her mind. And what she found there was profound, beautiful. She had always known that she never wanted to let Link leave her side, to always stay together and watch after one another. But to see it laid before her so clearly was like being knocked off her feet.

Of course it was him.

It was always him.

And, as spontaneously as it happened, it ended. Link fell back against the statue, his eyes glossed over and hazy. Zelda gasped as she regained her senses, staring at him bug-eyed and unable to process what had just happened. And just as fast, she began to lose that clarity. The doubts began to settle back into her mind. He had lost a lot of blood and had hit his head multiple times. He clearly wasn’t himself– that’s all.

… Right?

All she knew was that right now, Link was gravely injured and the closest place to get help would be Robbie’s Lab. She prayed that Link would be able to hang in there until they arrived. Zelda put an arm around him to try and get him on his feet. Despite his condition he still attempted to walk with her help, dragging his legs through the water. His horse even looked back and provided his neck for support to aid in getting him back in the saddle.

Once Zelda was settled in the saddle behind him, she urged the horse forward with her heels, who stepped carefully around the fallen Lynel, face down in the water. 

Her mind was abuzz with new thoughts, new ideas that only made her head more chaotic and dizzying to navigate. Zelda tried to remember how she perceived Link in regard to herself. Just a knight? A hero? 

A true friend?

Could she still call him that after tonight?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed playing Age of Calamity! We're back to our weekly chapter uploads as of now. I hope y'all didn't miss us too much. :)

Purah and Robbie sat at the technician’s cluttered kitchen table, covered with scattered research papers and failed experiments. There was only a small space in the middle of the table where their chess board sat, surrounded by one hundred years of tiresome work as Purah flip-flopped over where her bishop would land.

“Should I– no, not that, it’d … Well, maybe– oh, but! … No, not there either …” Purah chewed on her pinky nail, focusing closely on the game.

Robbie groaned, resting his wrinkled face in his knobby hand. “Will you make a move, you old crone?” He chided, “Or are you finally admitting defeat?”

“Shut up, you bag of bones! And, who are you calling a crone, you dinosaur?” Purah snapped back, clacking the piece back to the space she had picked it up from, causing the surrounding pieces to all jump from the board, almost as if in surprise. “This isn’t speed chess– I’m taking my time! There’s a reason why I’ve always beaten you, you know, and it’s not from your old-age brain-rot!”

“Brain-rot my foot!” Robbie brought a fist down on the table, causing a stack of report papers on Guardian foot modules to go crashing to the cobblestone floor. “You’re barely any younger than I am!”

Purah cupped her round, cherubic-like cheeks, and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, wouldja?” She teased, her legs swinging freely off her chair, too short for even the possibility of reaching the floor. Purah finally made her move, sitting back and sticking her tongue out at her research partner.

“That’s nothing to be proud about, you crazy fool.” Robbie scolded, immediately moving his knight to take Purah’s bishop. “Who knows how long it could take to reverse the effects of that stupid rune you created?”

Purah smirked, placing a finger on her rook. “Ya won't hear a complaint from me! Who says I’d ever want to go back to having loose skin and saggy boobs again?” She spat back before sliding her rook into his knight, taking it for her own. “Check.” She said in a cocky tone, sitting back with her hands folded over one another.

Robbie stared down at the board in shock, lifting his goggles and squinting to confirm that he had missed such a move. He was about to protest before there was a loud knocking at the door, rapid and strong.

“Oh!” Purah glanced back at the door, noticing that the light rain that had begun earlier in their game had now started to pour. “That must be our company!” She sang, quickly hopping off her chair and heading over towards the door. “Don’t you dare move those pieces!” She threatened as she left the kitchen. Robbie lowered his hand from the board with a dejected grunt.

“Comiiiiiing!” She called out, skipping to the door and swinging it open. “Welcome to Chateau du …”

Purah trailed off as she saw Princess Zelda standing in the door, shouldering a semi-conscious Link who could barely keep his head up in her exhausted arms. Blood ran down the front of them both, and Link sported a nasty-looking wound across his chest, his left arm hanging limp. The two were soaked to the bone from the rain, and Zelda was breathing so hard she was nearly hyperventilating. She managed to get only a few words out.

“Link– H-He … Needs help …” She croaked, almost drowning in the heavy rain.

Purah’s eyes grew wide. This wasn’t the first time Link had shown up at her door while knocking on death's simultaneously. This wasn’t even the worst condition she had seen him in! But to see the princess painted similarly in blood was a shock to the system that not even she could have expected.

Purah spun around, calling out to Robbie. “Robbie, it’s them! Run a bath, quick! We’ve got a bleeder!”

“Shit– Don’t let him bleed on the rug! It’s Rito!” She heard him call back, his feet pounding against the hardwood as he dashed into the other room to run the wounded knight a cleansing bath. As he did, Robbie’s wife Jerrin rounded the corner, gasping in surprise once she saw the princess and the hero in such a state.

Purah paid her no mind and rushed out into the rain, grabbing Link’s legs under her arms. “C’mon, bring him in!” She urged Zelda while taking tiny steps backwards and the two carried him into Robbie’s humble home.

“H-He’s hurt– he’s …” Zelda muttered, her voice sounded small and far away, while she tried not to drag her knight on the rug. “I-I tried to h-help him but …”

“He’s fine.” Purah reassured her, giving her a rare genuine look. “Zelda, he’ll be fine. I promise.”

“O-O-Okay …” She stammered back.

Leaving a trail of water and muck they maneuvered him to the floor, propping his back up against the wall to keep him sitting upright, Zelda could feel the stress of the journey beginning to fill her body, her knees becoming wobbly and weak. She raised a hand slowly, not sure if she needed it to rub her head or hold the wall. Her eyes never left her hero’s body, telling herself he was only sleeping. Just resting. “I … I-I need to get … get the uh … the horse– Truth. I’ll-”

“No, no, nonsense. We’ll get it for you.” Jerrin chimed in, approaching Zelda and clasping her hands around hers. While startled by the stranger, the dazed girl did not resist being carefully led to the sitting area nearby. Jerrin offered her a seat, a soft– if not a bit worn– armchair. “Please Princess, come sit. It must have been a terrible journey.”

“B-But what of Link …” Zelda protested.

“He’ll be fine, Robbie is running him a bath now.”

“... M-My clothes are s-soaked, I-I-”

“Pay it no mind, Robbie spills his tea all over these chairs like a fool. Some water would do it good.” Jerrin spoke softly, “Please, you must rest.”

Zelda opened her mouth to protest again, glancing over her shoulder at Link once again. She could find no more words, letting out an exhausted sigh. Zelda carefully lowered herself into the chair. The springs creaked underneath her, but that chair was like a warm maternal hug in that moment, and she let out a pained moan as her body was finally allowed to settle after the night's events.

Still, she kept a watchful eye on Link from across the room. The knight had lost consciousness at some point during the trip up, and Zelda had been horrified that she may have been losing him. After everything that had happened tonight, to lose him silently in her arms scared her worse than any savage Lynel attack. Purah and Jerrin had assured her that he would be fine, but she felt that if he left her sight at all he would simply vanish from her life altogether. Just like before ...

It was cold then, too.

“Zeldy?”

Zelda snapped her head back, seeing Purah standing before her with a folded quilt under her arm, holding a cup of hot tea in the other. But had she not just been standing by Link’s side? Zelda turned back to see where Link had been sitting to find him absent from that spot. She felt her breath beginning to quicken as the panic set in once again. “W-W-Where is … Link, w-where–” She was stopped as Purah placed a hand on her knee to calm her.

“Hey," she spoke softly, "It’s okay, just relax. Robbie and Jerrin brought him up to wash his wounds and get him cleaned up.” She explained, placing the mug on the nearby coffee table and setting the quilt next to it.

“O-Oh …” Zelda muttered, glancing back at the empty wall one more time. She hadn’t even noticed … Where had her mind wandered to? “I-I’m sorry, I’m a bit …”

“Frazzled?” Purah finished.

Zelda let out a nervous chuckle. “I suppose that’s one word for it …”

Purah nodded, “I gotcha, Princess.” She clapped her hands together. “Right now, all we can do is let both of you rest. And the first step is to get you out of those clothes.”

Zelda blushed a bit at the implication but forgot that once she looked down at herself for the first time since they had left camp. Zelda’s front was covered in Lynel blood, her Hyrulean blue tunic stained dark indigo with the monster’s life-fluid. Her tights were torn, ripped from her chase through the forest, and she could feel water pooling in the soles of her boots, her toes freezing cold. All evidence of the horrific night that she had endured, and evidence that she wanted to immediately dispose of.

“Y-Yes, alright.” She agreed, pulling her blouse over her head.

* * *

Zelda sat curled up in Robbie’s sitting room, changed into one of Jerrin’s old cream-coloured nightgowns and wrapped in the warm quilt as Purah looked her over. Zelda held the hot drink in her hands, savouring its warmth as it thawed her icy skin.

The princess recounted the events of the whole night. The Lynel attack which separated the two of them, Zelda’s harrowing encounter with the massive beast, Link’s return, and the final standoff in the Spring of Power. She did not, however, let her know about what happened afterward. Zelda felt that even she couldn't make heads or tails of Link’s sudden display of affection towards her, so she certainly couldn’t trust Purah’s loose lips to treat the situation with discretion of any sort.

That would be something to speak with Link about when he woke up.

Purah had learned some basic first aid for such an occasion. Luckily, Zelda seemed to have gotten out of such an encounter mostly unscathed, miraculously, with the exception of a few minor cuts and bruises that Purah was currently tending to. Zelda flinched, hissing quietly at the sting of the alcohol-soaked cotton swab which made contact with her knee, rubbed raw from impact on the rough forest floor.

“You’ve had quite the night, haven’t you?” Purah spoke, staying focused on treating Zelda’s scrapes and bruises.

“I was so scared, Purah …” Zelda spoke, still trying to come down from the adrenaline high. “I thought I was going to die. Truly, I did. How foolish I would’ve been if I’d died there, after everything we’ve done …” She sighed, bringing the mug up to her lips.

Purah shook her head. “Well, if something like a Lynel was enough to stop you, you woulda been dead already. You know the Goddesses wouldn't allow that.”

Her brows knit tightly in response, wondering why she still struggled to summon her power that was her birthright. Even in a life-or-death situation. Had everything been a fluke up until then? Her head was spinning and Zelda felt her eyes growing heavy with fatigue. “I just want this night to be over, Purah. I don’t think my heart can …” She paused, stifling a yawn in her throat, “... take much more. I don’t even think I can stand …” She admitted, curling her legs onto the chair as she subconsciously prepared to settle in for the night.

Purah smiled softly at her running around to the side of the armchair to get closer to her princess. “That’s fine. I’ll leave you right here. You get some sleep and let us know if you need anything. You deserve some rest, Zeldy. Goddess knows you've earned it.”

Zelda smiled weakly, sniffling a runny nose from exposure to the storm brewing just outside. Purah was not often one to offer emotional support like Impa did for her so long ago. Usually she hid her true emotions behind a sequence of hand gestures and poses. But every so often, like right now, Purah was able to give Zelda that emotional safety. And even in the body of a child, her wisdom shone through. “Thank you Purah … I don’t know what I’d …” Zelda wasn’t able to stop this one, covering her mouth as she let out a long yawn.

“Shhh.” Purah cooed, reaching up to pull the quilt over Zelda’s bare shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. Just sleep.”

That was the last thing Zelda could understand before her exhaustion finally caught up to her. She could only make out a couple more muffled words from the pint-sized professor before sleep finally took her.

Zelda awoke to the sound of birds chirping sweetly outside the window. A delightful sound to be woken by, and one that she was still getting used to. She groaned as she sat up, bringing a hand to her face to rub the sleep from her eyes.

She knew that it would be best to get out of bed, get her day started. She glanced out the window, looking at the rolling green hills of Necluda lit up in the late-morning sun. But, even with such a beautiful day, Zelda couldn’t seem to bring herself to get out of bed. She pondered possibly sleeping in a bit more, relishing in the soft homey comforts of the blankets and pillows that smelled just like …

Until the sound of meat sizzling in a pan, followed by the smell of freshly cooked bacon wafting up the stairs and enveloped the loft around her.

Zelda smiled, only now noticing that she was sitting in bed alone. She immediately swung her legs over the side of the bed, painlessly hopped to her feet and approached the railing and leaning over to look down into the kitchen below.

There he was.

Link stood in front of the stove, grinding pepper onto the dish which sizzled in his pan. He wore an apron around his front with his hair tied back in a ponytail so as to not sully the dish with a stray strand. As he turned to grab the grinder full of salt salt, he caught Zelda in the corner of his eye. He looked up and smiled wide, wider than he had ever smiled at her before. His eyes were filled to the brim with joy– with love. “Hey, sleepyhead.” He teased lovingly, turning back to his work, “Did you sleep well?”

Zelda nodded. “Sure did … But you’ll have to get a less comfortable bed. I can barely get myself up in the morning.” She commented with a giggle as she grabbed a baggy shirt− his− from on top of the dresser, pulling it over her head and wearing it as a dress as she headed towards the stairs.

Link chuckled, redirecting his attention to the egg he had been poaching for her. “Oh no, is the poor Princess addicted to relaxing and taking it easy for once?” He turned to look at her as she descended the stairs, feigning sadness with his bottom lip stuck out. “How incredibly tragic!”

Zelda shook her head and rolled her eyes, approaching him from behind and wrapping her arms around his middle, teasing the back of his ear with her nose. “Hush, and make my breakfast, knight.”

Link laughed, turning his head to look at her, their faces just inches apart. “Yes, Your Highness.” He joked, before leaning in and kissing her gently on her lips. She returned the kiss, feeling her body grow lighter from just their lips touching ever so slightly. Hundreds of kisses they had shared and yet each time was just as sweet as the first.

She broke away first to lean in to look at his breakfast spread. “That smells delicious,” She complemented before breaking her embrace and sauntering around to the other side of the table, taking a seat so she could watch him cook.

The two of them shared a pleasant silence together as he worked at the stovetop. Zelda sat at the sturdy oak table, captivated by his form, his movements, just … him. To her, this tiny house in Hateno was the only thing that existed in the world, and it was the only thing that needed to exist.

Link carefully plated Zelda’s breakfast, a full spread of bacon and poached eggs, topped off with two slices of toast with honey– her favorite. “Here you are.” He spoke softly as he placed the meal before her, leaning in to kiss the top of her head as he did. Zelda brought her hand up to wrap around his arm, not wanting him to leave her side. He gave her a knowing look, and she could still smell his own breakfast cooking just a few feet away. With a sigh, she surrendered his arm, letting it slide against the palm of her hand as he returned to his own meal.

The food was divine, as usual. Zelda knew that Link was a fantastic cook, a true gourmand let loose into the wilds of Hyrule. But to taste what he was able to make in a real kitchen, and not on a smokey campfire in the middle of nowhere, was truly remarkable.

In the time they had spent together here, Link had slowly opened her eyes to a simpler life. Here in Hateno, the world was so much smaller and less scary, where nobody expected anything from her. The world outside the walls of the village was terribly lonely, and so much needed to be done to return Hyrule to its illustrious former self. The damage the Calamity had left seemed impossible to fill. But here, in this tiny shack of a home, with him, she felt so fulfilled. Everything that she needed to live that perfect life of her dreams rested within these four walls.

Link soon joined her at the table, sitting across from her with his own plate. Even with that wooden barrier separating them, they were as one, their feet canoodling below the table and their eyes exchanging wordless glances towards one another whenever the other was looking down. Here, they were no longer a princess and her knight …

They were simply two stupid kids who were truly in love.

Once the two had finished, Link pushed his plate away, sitting back in his chair with a sigh. “That … was very good.” He admitted with a nod of his head.

Zelda sighed with him, nodding as he spoke. “It certainly was, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah …” Link trailed off, and a sad smile slowly faded across his face. “But …

“You should probably wake up about now, huh?”

Zelda cocked an eyebrow at her devoted partner. “Wake up? What do you-”

* * *

Zelda sat up straight in the very armchair she had fallen asleep on the previous night. She immediately regretted sitting up so quickly when her stiff muscles began screaming at her to stop, the aches from last night settling terribly into every nook and cranny of her body. She groaned, rolling her shoulders back until they softly popped to alleviate some of the stiffness.

A familiar sound was coming from the kitchen, just through the door, a sizzling of fat and grease that could only be the sound of breakfast being prepared. Zelda stood up, gritting her teeth as her legs burned and begged her to sit back down. She fought through the pain, taking light steps towards the kitchen with hope that she would see Link standing over a stove and preparing them a hot breakfast.

The reality was a bit disappointing.

“Oh, good morning!” Jerrin greeted her with a friendly wave from the other side of the kitchen, carefully flipping her eggs in the pan. “I hope you slept well. Purah told us to let you rest, but I was worried that you’d be uncomfortable curled up in that little old chair.”

Zelda tried to hide her disappointment, her mind still pondering the location of her fallen knight. “N-No, it was fine, really.” She insisted with a shake of her head, immediately regretting doing so as her head began to throb again. She brought a hand up to her forehead, letting out a pained sigh. “When you travel so much you uh … I suppose you get used to sleeping like that.”

Jerrin gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m making breakfast, if you’d like some.” She offered.

Zelda nodded, shuffling her feet awkwardly to shift her weight from side to side to try and alleviate the ache in her hips and back. There was a bit of a pause before Zelda piped up again.

“Where … Where is Link?”

Jerrin looked up as she slid the eggs onto a plate for their guest. “Oh, he’s fine, Princess. I managed to get him all stitched up and stable. We’re just letting him sleep upstairs.” She informed her glancing over to the flight of stairs leading up to the second floor on the opposite wall. “He’s had worse, I’ve been told. I’m sure that he’ll-”

“Can I see him?” Zelda interrupted, rather rudely she would admit.

“Oh! Uh, yes, of course.” Jerrin responded, “It’s the third room on the right once you get to the top of the stairs.”

“Thank you.” Zelda replied curtly.

The climb up wasn't any easier than the walk to the kitchen, relying heavily on the railing to pull herself up each step. Zelda thanked the Goddess that she had only suffered minor scrapes and bruises as she reached the second floor, she couldn't imagine how Link was feeling right now. She strode down the hall, passing Robbie and Purah’s doors before arriving at the third door down.

Zelda reached for the doorknob, only to stop as soon as her hand gripped the handle. For whatever reason, turning that knob and entering that room suddenly became Zelda’s worst nightmare. To see somebody that she cared about so dearly in such a dire condition … it was almost too much to bear. Still, she knew that she had to see him. Summoning all her courage, the princess turned the knob and pushed through.

She stood in the doorway, just staring at him for a moment. It was as if she had forgotten how to move.

Link laid in the plush bed of the guest room; a heavy comforter draped over him for his comfort. From where she stood, it was as if nothing had ever happened. His dark blond hair splayed over the pillow was clean of blood and muck and appeared to be actually cleaner than usual. She knew that he was quite the wild child after waking up from the Shrine of Resurrection, and heaven knows what sort of hygiene regime the boy could maintain in that environment. So, a bath really did him good, regardless of the circumstances.

In truth, it only looked like he was deep in sleep. But when she summoned the will to approach, that’s when the imperfections began to rear their ugly head. She saw a few defined lines on his face, still raised and red from the stitches. He was bruised, sporting a nasty black eye that petered off into a sickly greenish brown. He had clearly been through the ringer, and it showed when she looked closer.

She remembered the nasty wound that the Lynel had slashed into his chest, and morbid curiosity got the better of her. Carefully, she gripped the edge of the comforter and lifted it off the slumbering knight’s torso. Zelda grimaced at the sight, regretting her decision immediately.

The bruising was much worse here. His left shoulder blossomed deep red and purple all the way down to his forearm, which was bandaged heavily. The gash across his chest was bright red, puckered skin held together with tight stitches spaced evenly along the laceration. While the stitches were expertly done, the severity of the gash didn’t make it look any better. From only looking at it, Zelda could tell that Link was in for a world of pain when he regained consciousness. She didn’t envy him in the slightest. Feeling that overwhelming guilt seep in once again she threw the covers back over him, not wanting to look at his injuries any longer.

Zelda sat down next to him on the bed, gazing down at him over her shoulder. She knew that he would be fine– Jerrin and Purah had assured her of that already. But what still worried her was Link’s actions in the Spring of Power.

And about his kiss.

It had never left her mind, not for a single moment. Zelda almost dreaded the moment he would wake up, because once that time came, there was no way that she could let it go. She would have to ask him. She had to know why. Was it love? Such a concept was so foreign to her, to the point that such an option seemed laughable. He was a knight, dedicated to the kingdom of Hyrule. To fall for the princess was absurd.

And the princess falling for her appointed knight was even more ridiculous.

She would rather fall back on her scientific and unbiased hypothesis. Link had lost more blood than she cared to think about in his battle with the Lynel, and as such he could not have been himself by the time she waded through the holy waters to meet him. That kiss could be explained in many ways that were not romantic in nature. The act very well could have been completely subconscious!

But then again … even subconscious actions are based on reality. She brought a hand up to his face, carefully tucking a stray hair behind his ear. Link … could he really feel …

“Hey.”

Zelda jumped, pulling her hand back to her chest, as Purah’s voice startled her out of her trace. “Purah! Oh, you …” She lowered her voice, not wanting to wake Link as he slept, “You scared me.”

Purah giggled in response. “That’s okay. Jerrin says he’s gonna be sleeping for a while. Maybe a couple days.” She admitted, “Breakfast is ready if you want some.” She offered, rocking back on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back.

Zelda turned back to him, sleeping soundly in the softest bed in the whole lab. Link had always been so selfless, offering to let Zelda sleep first, giving her first choice to sleep in the most comfortable spot, even giving her his spot in Truth’s saddle. It was always such a small display of kindness, and it made her happy to see him finally getting the comfort that he truly deserved.

Zelda sighed, turning back to Purah with a faint smile. “I’d love that.” She spoke as she rose from the bed, following Purah out of the room, leaving Link to slumber by his lonesome. Zelda could only hope that her knight would make a speedy recovery and return to her side.

* * *

Over the next two days, Zelda made herself at home in Robbie’s humble abode. For the time being they were stuck in Akkala while Link recovered. This was an excellent opportunity to look into Robbie and Purah’s research that she had only gotten a glimpse of in the Hateno laboratory.

What she saw was truly extraordinary. One of Robbie’s most impressive mockups was one that used recycled parts from an ordinary Guardian and repurposed it into what Zelda could only describe as a horseless carriage. Instead of being pulled along by a beast of burden, the wagon held its own power source, the Guardian Core, which allowed the driver to control the speed at which the cart moved at their own whim, rather than being at the mercy of a horse or ox in a bad mood. Though Robbie admitted it was only a draft and he had yet to secure the parts needed for a prototype.

Another experiment that perplexed Zelda was from Purah’s unique mind. Purah had drawn up schematics for a specialized communication device that could be used to speak with someone from long distances. The way Purah described it, she had discovered that all Guardians could communicate in some form or another through invisible signals. She claimed that, theoretically, she could create devices not unlike the Sheikah Slate that allow some form of rudimentary communication with each other using these signals.

It was that very experiment that Purah was going over with Zelda in the lab.

“And what would you say the range would be? A couple kilometers?” Zelda prodded, going over the schematics one more time with a keen eye.

“Hard to say without a working prototype, but as long as it's within range of a Sheikah tower it should be able to use that to communicate with other devices anywhere in Hyrule!” Purah replied excitedly, her glasses slipped down her tiny nose before she pushed them back up again, “But that shouldn’t be too hard to whip up once Robbie gets back with that dead Guardian.”

Zelda nodded, “Yes. I certainly hope that he and Jerrin are faring well.” Even before she and Link had arrived, Robbie had been planning to retrieve an intact stalker from the Torin Wetlands in South Akkala. He had left that morning with Jerrin, hoping to return before the end of the day. Zelda glanced at the clock. 6:35pm. She chewed her thumbnail nervously. Perhaps it had been all the excitement of the last few days, but she found herself feeling more anxious lately.

Purah was clearly not as worried. “Pfft. We can only _hope_ that a Hinox ate him.” She joked, “Not Jerrin, though. I want her back in Hateno. She’ll get over it.”

Zelda’s eyes went wide, letting out a laugh that betrayed her usual sense of humour. “Purah, that’s awful! You’ll feel terrible if that happens!”

“Yeah, but only because I’ll have to finish that old fool’s work.” Purah continued to clown on her odd research partner, “And most of his stuff is bonkers. Old age’ll really do that to you. He was just telling me the other day that he-”

Purah was interrupted suddenly by the sound of creaking boards above them, coming from the second floor. The baby-sized brainiac looked up at the princess, giving her a knowing look. There was only one person in the house that wasn’t the two of them.

They left their work, poking their heads into the kitchen as the footsteps started towards the stairs. They heard the sound of old hardwood groaning as there were one, two, three steps down the steps, until finally …

There he was.

Link stepped out into the kitchen, the only thing covering him being his bedsheets which he wore tied around his waist. He squinted as his eyes reacted to the bright lanterns of the dining room, only turning to face them when he noticed Zelda in the doorway.

Zelda was amazed. Link’s wounds … they had almost completely healed. The bruising, the small cuts on his face, they were all gone without a trace. And the nasty injury splayed across his chest had healed significantly.

When he met her eyes, he smiled widely. “Zelda …” His voice was gravelly from sleep, deep and raspy.

Zelda opened her mouth to speak but was suddenly interrupted by Purah who squeezed past the royal princess. “Linky! Welcome back to the world of the living!” She joked, only earning a stern look from Zelda.

“Link, are you sure you should be standing right now?” Zelda finally spoke, approaching him and taking his hand. “Perhaps you should …” Zelda trailed off as she studied his chest. Now that she was closer, she could notice just how well the gash had healed in just two short days. No longer was it a swollen mess of thread and flesh, instead much of the cut had healed together in record time, only leaving another scar on Link’s ever-growing tally of battle marks. Zelda reached up and ran a finger gently along the scar, now running flush with the rest of his body. “Remarkable …” She commented, seemingly fixated on his chest.

Purah and Link shot a look at one another before the scientist piped up. “Uh … Zelda, you good?”

“Hm?” Zelda turned back to look at her, then back at Link. She saw Link staring back at her with an eyebrow cocked, a bit confused by her closeness. Zelda quickly realized how close she was, withdrawing her hand quickly. “Oh! I-I’m sorry, it’s just– you’re healing very well! That’s all.” She explained sheepishly as her cheeks blushed pink, her eyes now glued to the floor.

Purah chuckled, walking forward to get a closer look herself. “Well, I’d say you’ve made a stunning recovery, Linky-poo!” She cheered with a little hop, “How are you feeling? Anything you need?”

“Yes, is there anything we can get you? Anything at all?” Zelda echoed, her hands clasped in front of her chest.

Link responded by pinching the bridge of his nose, groaning as he tried to stifle the headache that he’d been nursing since waking up. He finally spoke, only offering four words to the girls.

“Got anything to eat?”

* * *

“It’s Mipha?” Zelda echoed his words, more confused than anything.

“Yeah … sort of,” Link confirmed in between large mouthfuls of roasted pork shank. Purah had been kind enough to get him some clothes since his tunic was still being mended. He wore an old pair of pants and a baggy shirt that once belonged to Robbie. She had also prepared him an assortment of leftovers from last night’s supper, which Link was digging into gratefully. He quickly grabbed a dinner roll and bit into it, not bothering to butter it first before continuing.

“When I got rid of Ganon’s influence from Vah Ruta, Mipha gave me her Grace.” Zelda furrowed her brow in confusion and Link finished chewing and swallowed before clarifying. “Her healing ability. Her magic was passed on to me. Now, whenever I take a major hit, I can heal much faster than normal, thanks to her.” He explained.

“But it works wayyyyyy better when he’s sleeping.” Purah chimed in as she rounded the table with another plate of food, Cucco drumsticks. She slid the plate onto the table and Link was on it in seconds, a piece in each hand

“And it makes you … hungry?” Zelda asked, still wrapped up in seeing him well again.

“Oh, no.” Purah answered for him, as he picked the bones clean. “He's been asleep for two whole days, so he's just playing catch-up. Eats us out of house and home every time” She sighed and shook her head as she watched him dive into another serving of the white meat.

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. No more than 48 hours ago, he was on death’s door. Now he was scarfing down Cucco wings like nothing had happened. He was always full of surprises− she could not deny that.

Still, she knew that now he was awake and conscious, there were things that the two of them would need to discuss.

After Link had eaten his fill, Zelda took it upon herself to escort him back up to his room. Link insisted that he was all better, but the way he winced and grimaced with each step told her otherwise. Link ceded to his princess’s whim, agreeing to sleep for the rest of the night to finish healing.

Once in the room, Zelda could feel the anxiety returning, crawling into her heart and threatening to seize it. Still, she knew that it was only right to apologize for her reckless actions that nearly killed him that night. There was no going back now. “Umm … Link, could I … speak with you for a moment?” Zelda mustered up the courage to ask.

“Hmm?” Link hummed in response, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and turning to look at her. “What’s up?”

Zelda took a breath, turning to close the door behind them so they would not be disturbed. “Well … it’s about that night. A lot happened, and I feel like I’m obligated to say something.”

Link nodded, listening intently.

“I−“ Zelda started but shook her head and tried again. “You told me to do something. You told me to retreat to Robbie’s and I … I didn’t listen.” Her eyes fell to the floorboards. “I came back, and because of that I endangered your life and mine. I should have listened− I know. But I just couldn’t−”

“I’m sorry.” Link interrupted, causing Zelda to bring her apology to a screeching halt.

Zelda looked up at him, her mouth hung open in surprise. “I-I … what?” She blurted out, not understanding what he was saying.

Link chuckled, letting out a sigh before he began. “I made the wrong call. Sending you away wasn’t something that I did to keep you safe. I did it because I was scared.”

Zelda held her hands together in front of her, not used to being told that she was in the right after making such a rash decision. “Scared? Of what?”

“Losing you, Princess.” Link answered shortly.

Zelda felt the tips of her ears twitch as they began to burn hot. “L-Losing me? But you said−”

Link shook his head, stopping her once more. “You were safest by my side. I did something reckless and stupid that night by sending you away. I endangered my own life, and yours in turn." He nodded his head towards her, "Me and you? We’re a _team_. And I was stupid to think I could do it on my own. In the end, you were the one who outsmarted that Lynel.

“And I want you to know that I’m proud of you.”

Zelda could feel tears pricking the edge of her eyes but blinked them away. There would be no tears shed, not while she felt this swelling in her chest. “Thank you, Link. I don’t know what I did to deserve you. You're right, we _are_ a team.” Zelda beamed at him.

“And I promise to keep you close by next time” Link replied with a smile.

Zelda laughed nervously, "Well, I hope there isn't a next time, but I understand what you mean."

Link sighed with relief, feeling that burden being lifted. “I do wish I could've seen the big guy go down.”

That piqued Zelda’s interest. “You didn't?” She asked, moving forward to sit next to him on the bed. The Lynel was definitely defeated by the time she had made it into the spring. “How much do you remember, exactly?”

“The last thing I can remember ..." Link bit his lip for a moment, taking a second to think. "Is blasting it with Urbosa’s lightning, but everything after the snap is … fuzzy." he admitted, chuckling at the irony. "But I guess it did the job well enough."

Zelda didn’t know how to feel. Part of her had hoped that Link had remembered their moment in the Spring of Power, when their lips collided and he drew forth a noise from Zelda that she hadn't ever made before, stirring something deep within her that she was still trying to quell. And the other part was relieved knowing that he did not recall. If that was the case, there was nothing to get all worked up over. She could pretend like nothing ever happened, and they could move on with their mission without worry.

… Right?

“Princess?” Link’s words jumped her out of her rumination, bringing her back into the room. Zelda suddenly became acutely aware of how long she had gone without talking while gazing longingly at her knight’s face. “Are you alright? Anything on your mind?”

Zelda wanted to tell him the truth. That he had kissed her in a moment of passion after nearly dying, and that she had welcomed him into her arms without a second thought. That while in that moment, every single passing thought of Link as something more than her knight had been instantly vindicated, proving to her that life with him was everything that she wanted and more.

But her doubts put a stop to all of that. Her doubts reminded her that her life was not one of domestic solitude in Hateno Village, living out their days eating poached eggs with honey on toast and growing old together. She was Princess Zelda, heir to the Hyrulean throne, and the one destined to bring Hyrule back from the brink of annihilation to the great nation it once was. Her life was laid out before her, and in no scenario was the possibility of them ever being together.

That would not stop her from dreaming, however.

“N-No.” Zelda lied, standing up to leave. “I suppose I’m still a bit tired. Even after all this time.”

Link nodded. “Oh, okay.” He seemed satisfied with her answer, not that Link was ever one for prodding.

Zelda approached the door, opening it and looking out into the darkened hallway. She turned back once more with a faint smile.

 _Dammit Link, I think I may love you_ , is what she wanted to say.

“Goodnight, Link,” is what she said.

“Goodnight, Princess.” He responded.

She closed the door behind her, leaning up against it and sighing. This was for the best. She would put these foolish feelings behind her and continue on the path that had been paved for her.

She took one last breath, one last moment to savour the idea of a life in a quiet homestead on the countryside with her beloved knight, before heading back down the hall.

* * *

The days following Link’s awakening were … uneventful. That night, Robbie had arrived with Jerrin with quite the prize. A full Guardian Stalker, fully intact but non-functioning. A perfect specimen to harvest materials from for their experiments. Zelda, however, was having troubles getting excited over such a find.

It wasn’t because she wasn’t trying. Zelda normally would have lost her royal mind at the prospect of getting deep into the inner workings of a real Stalker. However, her talk with Link that night had given her much to think about, and she found it hard to stay focused on the tasks at hand.

And Link wasn’t making it any easier.

Link, as expected, had made an extraordinarily speedy recovery. Chivalrous as he always was, he had offered to help disassemble the junked Guardian to help speed up the science team’s research. They accepted gratefully, and he got to work.

That wasn’t the issue, however. The issue was the heat.

The sun hung high in the sky as Zelda gazed out the window while Robbie and Purah argued over the power output of a Guardian’s core. The temperature was at an all-time high for this season, most likely the wind blowing the hot air from Death Mountain eastward, warming the usually chilly coastal cliffs of Akkala.

Which meant that Link had … relieved himself of his shirt as he worked just outside in Robbie’s makeshift junkyard, tying it around his waist.

Zelda was never one to stare. She had been taught by her father that such an act was rude, and unsightly, especially for somebody as noble and important as she. But recent events had changed quite a bit for her, and she simply couldn’t help herself but watch Link as he worked.

He looked … good. Better than good. Great, really. No longer was he painted in bruises and the wound on his chest was almost completely gone, leaving only another scar to join the others. And his arm no longer required the splints nor bandages any more. Zelda, however, was not interested in his recovery.

Her knight was toned, having built up much more bulk than one hundred years ago. She supposed that was bound to happen when you had to fight to survive in the wilderness, but such a defined body was something that she couldn’t seem to get out of her mind.

All sounds seemed to fade away as she watched Link scale the side of the defunct killing machine. He jammed the crowbar into a space between the stonish metal plates that made up its armour. Zelda could feel herself hold her breath, the grip on her pencil tightening as he reefed on the wrought iron bar to free the plate from its body.

She felt a weak hunger nestling into the pit of her stomach as his muscles flexed. He found no luck with his current position, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow with a long drag of the back of his forearm before going at it at a different angle.

 _Come on, get it._ Zelda urged in her mind, feeling her pencil flex under her grip.

Link pushed more and more, and Zelda could hear him grunting under the pressure of the armoured plate. And when Zelda thought that she was going to burst from the pressure …

She heard a pop.

But it wasn’t from the Guardian. She looked down to see she had snapped her pencil cleanly in two without even noticing it. She glanced at Purah and Robbie, who stared at her quizzically.

“Uh … you okay there, Princess?” Purah asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Oh! I uh … yes.” Zelda set the pieces of her writing tool down on the workbench. “I think I may just uh … need a break. Yes? I feel a tad… overwhelmed” She excused herself, standing up to go. “I believe I’m going to run a bath.”

Robbie nodded. “Very well. Be careful with the bottles! One of them is polish for Guardian Cogs and the other is shampoo.”

Zelda nodded, turning and quickly taking her leave.

It had been so long since the Princess had taken a real bath, but she was disappointed to find that it wasn’t as relaxing as she had hoped. The water was a perfect temperature, warming and easing the tension deep in her muscles. Jerrin had several salts and oils that she had added specifically to soften her skin and to create a pleasant aroma that would surely take her mind off him …

But she was sorely mistaken.

He was still there, lingering in the deepest reaches of her mind. Even through the deafening voices of her rational mind telling her that it could never be, she could not help but think of him. That deep hunger was only growing, consuming her more and more. Though her mind could deny him, her body could not, and her body was much less subtle in its tastes.

Zelda felt her mind begin to give into her fantasies, sliding into the water up to her nose as her hands began to wander. She thought of his strength, his power, his protective nature, his loyalty, his courage, his laugh, his eyes, his smile. She knew he would give her anything and everything if given the chance to. If she ever _gave_ him that chance.

If she had revealed what had happened in the Spring of Power that night, what might have happened. Would he have run from such a notion like her? Or … would he maybe have kissed her again? Zelda knew that if he had, she would have given in immediately. There wouldn't be a moment's hesitation. It was not something that she was ashamed of. She was only surprised at the depths of her affection she held for him.

Her eyes shut tight as Link’s shirtless form graced her vision once again. If she was his … would he have handled her like that? Tightly? Safely? Would he have loved her like he served her? Loyal and steadfast, bound to her with his life?

Zelda could feel her emotions building and building until it reached its peak. The princess relinquished a heavenly sigh, and as she did, she felt her body sigh with her. A great weight was slowly lifted off of her.

She opened her eyes, only to see the ceiling of Robbie’s bathroom.

Zelda sat up in the tub located in the center of the room, panting softly as she brought her knees to her chest. She hugged her legs, taking a deep breath as her heart pounded in her chest.

What had that boy done to her heart that night?


	9. Chapter 9

The crisp air of Akkala bid a sweet farewell to the travellers as they crossed back over into the province of Eldin, replacing it with the dry heat of Death Mountain. Zelda always dreaded the heat, but took solace from the fact that they were only passing through to get to Central Hyrule.

Meanwhile, Link was all too happy to finally get back on the road. He had been feeling a tad cramped sharing a living space with three other people, a jarring contrast to his usually solitary lifestyle. He had offered to let Purah accompany them to the castle, but the scientist politely declined. She explained that Robbie still had work that he would need assistance completing before they could leave. With that, they bid the travelling Hylians farewell until they met again at the newly rebuilt Hyrule Castle.

And there was still a plethora of work to be done in West Hyrule. Vah Medoh and Vah Naboris had been silent, no signs of unusual activity coming from either on the Sheikah Slate. Link naturally wanted to see this as a good thing, but Zelda quickly corrected that notion. If their previous experiences had proved to be the standard thus far, it was likely that the Champion’s spirits were struggling to keep control of their Divine Beasts if they had not found their successors yet. There was no time to waste.

The first step, however, was procuring some new ingredients. Link had unfortunately lost a good amount of ingredients in Akkala during the Lynel’s attack on their camp, whatever had been leftover was surely taken care of by the wildlife in the span of time they spent at Robbie's. Because of that, Link knew that he would have to stop and purchase some provisions from the Foothill Stable.

And that was exactly where they found themselves.

“Much appreciated.” Link thanked the merchant, carefully arranging the new cuts of meat in his chilled meat satchel. 

Zelda waited outside, wearing Link’s hood to hide her identity. Link had also opted not to wear his usual Champion’s Tunic, choosing an ordinary green Hylian tunic instead. The royal blue was a stylish and expensive dye, so when trying to keep a low profile it was perhaps not the best choice of fashion. The stable was especially busy this time of day, and Link didn’t want to cause too much of a fuss by parading Princess Zelda herself in front of the people right now, especially after their last encounter with a stranger in Eldin. If the Yiga were still operating anywhere within the province, it would be in their best interest to withdraw from the public eye.

That, and … Zelda had very much been on his mind for quite a while now. More so than what was required of him as her knight.

Since waking up in Robbie’s lab, Link had noted that the princess had been acting … off. She was usually sociable and talkative during these long stretches of travel, often regaling Link with tales of times before the Calamity or rambling on and on about her own personal research. But since they had left– since the Lynel attack to be more accurate– Zelda had become distant. She had rarely spoken thus far, and when she did their conversation would often end with her becoming visibly flustered, her eyes focusing more on the dirt between her boots than at the man before her.

Link tried to rack his brain, come up with any sort of reason she would be acting this way. But try as he may, there was nothing that he could remember that could have dramatically changed her demeanour like this. Link resigned himself to hoping that she was just exhausted from the travel and that she would return to her normal self with time. They  _ had _ been going nonstop since the vanquish of The Calamity ...

Link sighed, slinging the bag over his shoulder as he headed back outside. Once out, he was surprised to see that Zelda and Truth had been approached by a young Hylian man. He looked to be in his late 20s, dark brown hair sitting in messy curls atop his head, and dressed in plain rural Hylian clothes. Across his face was a pained expression and beads of sweat ran down his thick brow as he explained something to the lone princess. Link's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion, breaking out into a jog to quickly investigate the situation.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Zelda spoke, her hands clutched over her heart.

“The head of the stable said he'd look for someone to fix it, b-but we’re stuck– stranded out there– a-and they could come back any time!” The man managed to stammer out.

“Fix what?” Link interjected himself into the conversation, drawing both of their attention.

“Oh, Link!” Zelda sighed with relief at the sight of him, a welcome gesture to Link whose heart seemed to occupy a larger portion of his chest whenever she spoke to him. “This gentleman was just looking for somebody that could help him and his caravan. A couple Moblins attacked them on the road.”

The man nodded with a hum and extended a hand to shake. “The name’s Gahven. B-But everyone calls me Gav.”

Link eyed him suspiciously but accepted his handshake. “Got it, 'Gav.'” He confirmed, reaching into his bag. “You aren’t Yiga, are you Gav?” He asked bluntly.

Zelda shot Link a look of displeasure, but said nothing. After the last time, she honestly didn’t blame him.

“Y-Yiga?” Gahven shook his head, a look of confusion spread across his face. “I’m just a country man, honest. I don’t want anything to do with that mess.”

Link nodded, a gut feeling telling him that the man was speaking the truth. “And this attack, where did it happen? Where’s everyone now?”

Gahven shook his head again. “They weren’t able to come. We got a coupla ol’ timers, ya see, s'not safe for them on their own. When the Moblins attacked, they damaged one of the wagons– tipped 'er over and popped the damned wheel right off! Me and a couple of the men were able to scare them off … but we're no fighters.” He continued. "They sent me to find some help fixing it.”

Zelda’s green eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she looked back at her knight. “Link, please, we must help them.”

Link opened his mouth to protest, that maybe it was a bad idea to go to some undisclosed location with a total stranger. But something about the way she looked at him had this undeniable affect on him, like her compassion and kindness was being passed on to him. He couldn’t deny that life in the untamed and harsh wilderness had painted him a certain shade of cold towards strangers …

But he was the hero, wasn’t he? Perhaps he needed to start acting like it.

Link relinquished a sigh, turning back to the man in need. “Can you lead the way?”

* * *

Link and Zelda followed behind the man as they made their way down the path and towards Gahven’s caravan. Zelda sat astride Truth who matched Link’s walking speed, letting Gahven lead the way a few lengths ahead. Link had a good feeling about this distressed traveller, but it didn’t excuse his duty. Princess Zelda’s safety was of the utmost importance.

“So … what do you make of him?” Link asked, not taking his eyes off of him.

Zelda sighed. “Not much. I don’t think that he’s of any danger to either of us.”

“And what about you?” He asked, breaking his focus momentarily to look up at her. “Did you tell him who you were?”

Zelda shook her head. “No. And considering the situation, I think I’ll keep it that way. The less we complicate things, the better. And that goes the same for you.” She told him. It was less of a request from a friend and more of a command from the princess.

Link nodded. “Understood.” He confirmed in a stiff and formal manner, but he felt a tinge of sadness in how she spoke to him. He wasn’t sure why, though. As long as he had known her, this had been the job, nothing more. Anything else was complimentary, and to expect a friendly demeanour at all times was … unrealistic. 

The trip wasn’t terribly long, they rounded the bend around Trilby Valley and towards the northern edge of the Lanayru Wetlands in a little under an hour. Once there, the man piped up for the first time since leaving.

“That’s it, right up there!” He turned back to them, pointing down the road. “See the wagons there? That’s my group. They should be-” The man paused, something catching his eye as he looked off at his caravan.

“What is it?” Link asked, jogging forward to meet him. A simple gaze in Gahvan’s direction answered his question. From the collection of wagons arranged off to the side of the road, Link could see several billowing pillars of smoke. Link had figured that they had set up some sort of temporary camp, but that much smoke couldn’t be coming from an ordinary campfire.

There was a good chance that they were already too late.

Link didn’t even have a chance to stop their acquaintance. Before Link could so much as formulate a plan, the man had taken off down the road in a mad dash to protect his people. “No! Wait, we have to- Dammit!” Link cursed, rushing over to Zelda’s side as he rummaged through Truth’s saddlebag. “Can you see what’s going on? Through the Slate?”

“Oh! R-Right!” Zelda quickly retrieved the Sheikah Slate from her hip, using the camera built into the device to zoom in on the commotion. “Three … maybe four Moblins. It’s hard to tell.”

Link pulled a light broadsword and a traveller’s bow from his cache of weapons. He tossed the bow up to Zelda who only fumbled it for a moment before gripping it tightly. “Arrows are in the quiver by your right hip. Can you get close and cover me?” He wanted nothing more than to tell her to wait here, safe and sound with Truth, but he wasn’t about to make that mistake again. They were partners– a team– and it was time they worked like it.

Zelda hesitated only for a moment before giving him a small nod under the hood of her cowl. His commands lit a fire of determination behind her gentle emerald eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

Link gave her a smile and a nod. He reached back into the bag one more time to grab the Master Sword, but hesitated. If he wielded a weapon like that, it would surely be recognized. He reluctantly left the blade in the cache, opting to grab a heavier weapon– a traveller’s claymore– in its stead. 

Moblins were a cut above regular monsters like Bokoblins and Lizalfos. While barbaric and cruel like their smaller cousins, Moblins possessed a superior mind that had taken Link off-guard on more than one occasion. If he couldn’t rely on the power of the blade of evil’s bane, he would instead have to rely on brute force to defeat such an enemy. 

He strapped the blade to his back before taking off down the path towards Gahven. He gave one last glance back at Zelda as she took Truth’s reins and steered the horse away and rode along the coast of the wetlands, looking for the best vantage point. It was hard to ignore the slight panic he felt bubbling up from the pit of his stomach as the distance between them grew, but he would have to trust that she wouldn't truly be that far away.

Link’s athletic ability quickly proved to be superior in comparison to the young man’s. He caught up in no time at all, quickly grabbing onto Gahven and yanking him back by the collar. Gav immediately fought back, adrenaline fueling a blind swing of a right hook to thwart whatever had grabbed him.

“Stop!” Link commanded, grabbing Gahven’s arm and stopping his attack. “It’s me!" He yelled at the bewildered man. "What– did you think you were gonna fight ‘em with your bare hands?” Link scoffed, shoving the spare sword against his chest. “Let’s move!” Link dashed off towards the attacking Moblins, blade drawn and leaving Gahven to wonder who exactly this kid was that he had picked up.

Of all the things the Moblins had expected while ambushing these defenseless travellers for their bountiful cache of goods, Link was not one of them. Link zeroed in on a red Moblin terrorizing an elderly couple who had been pushed back against the side of one of the downed wagons. The gutsy knight pulled the blade from his back and swung, the weight of the hefty weapon combined with his swift stride mixing together to put as much force into the blow as possible. With a jump and a prayer, Link brought the claymore down on the monster’s shoulder, cleaving through its flesh with little resistance and felling it in a single blow.

Link straightened as he landed, flicking the blood from the blade in a single motion before turning to face the victims of the monster’s attack. “You alright?” He asked. Though the pair did little else but stammer, the fact that they were standing was good enough for him.

Gahven quickly caught up, rushing to the woman who met him with open arms. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re all alright …” Gahven spoke, scooping her up in a hug. “Gran, what happened?!”

The old woman wiped the tears from her face, taking a moment to catch her breath. “Oh, Gav … It’s all gone to shit. The boys are up by the first few wagons, trying to scare off the monsters like you did before. But there’s more of ‘em now … I’m worried that they’ll get hurt.”

Link’s eyes were drawn along the single-file line of wagons, and he could spot a commotion at the very end of the caravan. “Then that’s where we’re headed.” Link dug his heel into the ground, but was stopped with an open hand from Gahven.

“What about Keet?!” He asked the old woman frantically.

“I-I’m sorry, Gav. I haven’t seen your boy.” She admitted. “In all the commotion, we got separated. I couldn’t …” The old woman trailed off, her eyes meeting the ground.

Gahven gritted his teeth, uttering a curse under his breath. He spun around to face Link. “I’ve … I’ve gotta find my son. He’s only a lad, he–”

Link nodded, and interrupted his frantic explanation. “I can handle it. Go!” 

“Thank you.” Gahven bowed his head to the young man before him before taking off into the wagons to search for his son. Link gripped the handle of his claymore and sped off towards the front of the convoy.

* * *

The situation was grim when he arrived. A group of six men all wielding farming equipment as weapons stood before the Moblins, a meager last line of defense against the towering monsters. And they weren’t winning by any means. Two of the men sported slings for injuries on their arms, and another seemed to have suffered a nasty blow from one of their clubs to his head, the white of his bandages were soaked through with blood.

Two red Moblins flanked the leader: a blue Moblin wielding a large spiked club. It was a crude piece of carved hardwood with animal bone tied to it haphazardly and in typical Moblin fashion. To the average man, a single Moblin could devastate a settlement. Three Moblins could raze it to the ground.

But Link wasn’t an average man. “Get back!!” He cried out, his voice piercing through the commotion and the men instinctually dodged out of the way at the heed of his command. They fell back towards the wagon and left Link to face the monsters alone.

“W-W-Who are you?!” One of the men yelled at the strange young man as he took cover under the wagon.

“Gahven sent me.” Link answered, as he stepped up to face the Moblins. The monsters let out a nasally growl towards him, it's trunk-like nose vibrating with the sound. They knew exactly who stood before them. Any monster who  _ hadn’t _ met– and subsequently died at– the hands of the infamous Hero of Legend were still just Moblings. 

“Good man, that Gav!” Another man interjected, “Are ye sure you’re up to this task, lad? It took all of us to just hold them back.”

Link smirked. As he drew his heavy claymore, he could feel that familiar ache wash over his muscles, freshly recovered and ready for action once more. Not an intense pain– more of a reminder of his failures. Every single time he had almost fallen in battle resonated within him now, a cumulative warrior’s instinct reignited.

He would not fall.

Link answered the farmer’s question with a deft swing of his blade. The heavy iron edge cut effortlessly through the first Moblin, and it squealed in agony as the red of its blood ran from the diagonal cut across its chest, nearly indistinguishable with the red of its skin. Before its kin could intercept, Link followed through with his attack, allowing the momentum of the heavy sword to swing him around and connect once again. This time was far more fatal, and the Moblin could only let out a weak cry before Link’s claymore met its mark. The Moblin was bisected across its midsection, and the top half slid off the bottom and landed in a heap on the ground.

Its remains would not be swept up and collected in a puff of smoke and miasma only to be brought back on the particularly gruesome celestial event known as the Blood Moon. Since the end of The Calamity monsters had to face the very real consequence of a permanent death. For Ganon’s thralls, basic survival had been disregarded as a result of being brought back like clockwork each time. Most had all but forgotten what it meant to survive.

Link’s blade met the dirt to stop it’s follow-through. He quickly turned to face the other two, both of which were appropriately taken aback by the quick and precise nature of which the hero had easily dispatched their comrade. The other red Moblin quickly grew furious, raising his crude spear and charging the puny Hylian.

Link gritted his teeth, jumping out of the way and assuming a defensive stance. His eyes flickered back and forth between the two monsters as they approached from either side. Link knew he shouldn’t have thought so highly of these monsters as to not gang up on him. Moblins had minds greater than the lesser Bokoblin, but lacked the honor and respect seen in that of the warrior race of Lynels. As such, Moblins were never deterred from playing dirty. They revelled in it, in fact.

Luckily, Link had friends in high places.

The whiz of an arrow cutting through the air was the only warning that the red Moblin received before it was hit right in the neck. It foolishly ripped the arrow from the wound, only causing the wound to open up more. Before he could locate his assailant, another arrow zipped through the wind, this time silencing the Moblin once and for all as the arrowhead buried itself deep into its forehead. Its death was instant, and the force of the impact knocked him onto the ground, never to rise again.

Link grinned, flashing a thumbs up to his princess on the cliffs. Zelda maintained a laser focus, bow drawn with another shot ready, remembering everything Link had taught her during training. He had to admit, she had taken naturally to the bow. Perhaps in some other life, if she wasn’t the Princess of Hyrule, she would have made a remarkable guardswoman.

The Moblin leader, now realizing that the odds of survival were running much lower than it had expected, took a couple steps back as it growled in frustration at the hero. Two against one? That was dirty. But that just meant that it would have to dispose of the Hero before his friend on the cliff could stop him.

The leader charged forward with a mighty roar, dashing forward with his club hoisted over his head. Zelda, not expecting him to attack so suddenly, let her arrow fly in an attempt to subdue the monster. However, the backswing of the giant club deflected the blow aimed at its wicked spine, and Zelda uttered a vulgarity as she readied her next shot.

Link didn’t have the courtesy of waiting, however. The Moblin brought his club down on the young Hylian man, and Link deflected the attack as best he could with his weighty claymore, the flat of the blade against the palm of his gloved hand to block the strike perpendicularly. He grit his teeth as he felt the monster pushing against him, wedging his weapon between the shards of bone adorning its own, trying to break the hero with brute force alone. He steeled his stance, trying to keep his boots from sliding in the dirt below. Faltering for even a moment would see him crushed instantly.

Link’s muscles let out a sigh of relief when the Moblin suddenly lurched backward in pain, an arrow lodging itself in its shoulder. Link heaved the monster off of his person, using this opportunity to counterattack. He underestimated the Moblin’s recovery time however, and his swing was met with a solid block from the Moblin club. The clang from the metal on bone rang out loudly like the sound of a hammer on an anvil.

Link and the Moblin now stood on equal footing, the Moblin’s superior strength brought down to Link’s level by the sting of the arrow lodged in his right shoulder. The two began trading blows, each one being carefully deflected by the other’s defensive maneuvers.

Up on the cliff, Zelda grunted in frustration as she attempted to line up her next shot. A moving target was still something that she had trouble hitting, and she couldn’t risk her shot hitting Link in the process. All she could do was wait for an opening.

“Hah! Come on!!” Link goaded the monster, taking a wild swing at the beast. The leader blocked, but was surprised when a chunk of wood was carved out of its weapon. But it would not be deterred by simple intimidation tactics, keeping its guard up as Link brought his claymore down on the club over and over …

Until the unthinkable happened.

Link took one final shot at the beast, hoping to split its primitive weapon in a whirling vertical attack. But when it connected with the club, Link gasped as he felt the beast twist the weapon in its hand. His sword embedded into the wood of the bludgeon. The tide of battle had turned now, with Link’s claymore at the mercy of the Moblin invader.

The Moblin let out a disgusting, throaty laugh as the knight struggled to pull the blade from the twisted hunk of wood. The monster tried to raise his club in an attempt to wrest control of the sword from Link’s hands. However, Link refused to give up that easily. His grip held firm, shifting his weight into his lower body to keep his feet on the ground and prevent the Moblin from lifting him straight into the air. The two were now in a battle of strength, each trying to disarm the other.

Link’s eyes darted over to the cliff, and he carefully began circling the monster, trying to force it to turn its body with him. The Moblin growled, its feet dragging in the grass as it resisted Link’s manipulation of its body. But it refused to let go, knowing that to lose its weapon meant death– permanent death– same as the lifeless forms of its slain brethren. 

Link could hear his teeth grinding in his skull as he took the final step, having finally positioned the monster right where he wanted it. He said a brief prayer to the Goddess before letting go of his sword.

The handle was wrenched out of his hands as all the Moblin’s strength was used against it, toppling him backward. Link immediately dodged out of the way of any oncoming attack, turning to face the cliff. 

“Now!!”

Zelda reacted immediately. The end of the arrow shot from her fingers, whistling through the air before meeting its grisly mark: right through its wretched trunk-like snout. The creature roared in pain as the club slipped from his grip mid-swing. The weapon crashed to the ground, Link’s claymore finally detaching from the wood.

Link didn’t waste any time and he dashed forward, dropping into a roll to retrieve his weapon. Once he was armed, all he had to do was end it. The Moblin had lost all senses, swinging its lanky limbs wildly as it was blinded by the pain.

Best to put the horrid creature out of its misery.

Link let out a sharp cry before charging forward. There was a sickening sound as Link’s blade was thrust through the monster’s chest, ending its screams of pain as the blade pierced its heart, killing the beast instantly. Its body went completely slack, and Link grunted in disgust as he threw the heavy beast off of his form, planting his boot against it and shoving it to the ground, joining its kin in death.

Link plunged the blade into the dirt below, leaning on its handle to catch his breath while he drew his forearm across his forehead to wipe away the light sweat that had formed. A weak smirk was spread across his face. Still in top shape, with a hiccup here or there– couldn’t be helped. He turned to the farmers who he was just now noticing had come out of their hiding places to watch this strange boy fight. Link straightened his back and waved over to them, signalling that everything was fine.

“Hey!” Zelda’s voice immediately caught his attention, watching as she slid carefully down the most shallow side to meet him. She ran up to him, arms wide as she nearly tackled him with a warm embrace. “That was incredible!”

Link could feel that smile return to his face, a happiness that could not be replaced by any other simple pleasure. “Yeah, but I couldn’t have done it without you,” He posited holding her arms with his. “Those were some good shots! You’re a natural.” He complimented, smiling warmly at her.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he noticed the change in her behavior. Her face suddenly grew red, and that flustered demeanour he had noticed since leaving the lab quickly returned. “O-Oh no, I was simply doing what you t-taught me. That’s all.” She dismissed, waving her hands in front of her. “You did most of the work, and uh … you did a great job! E-Excellent work!”

Link forced a smile, masking his disappointment as that wall went back up. It was as if any moment she accidentally opened up to him, she would close herself off all over again. It reminded him of his earliest memories of her, but … different. As if there was a persona that she didn’t want to show.

“Umm … excuse me?” Link’s train of thought was broken by one of the older men, a balding farmer holding a pitchfork. “What you just did there was amazing … who are you two?”

Link opened his mouth to answer, but was quickly interrupted by Zelda who already had an answer prepared directly from the pages of a storybook her mother used to read her as a child. “Oh, we’re just travellers. Your friend Gahven asked for our help. My name is  _ Hilda _ , and this is my bodyguard,  _ Ravio _ .”

Link raised an eyebrow at how effortlessly she lied. It was not terribly becoming of a princess, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Well, we certainly appreciate the help.” The farmer continued, “If you hadn’t come, we'd've been monster food.”

Link waved off the praise. “We were told that you had wagon troubles.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right! Can you help with that? We'll need to set the wagon upright first.” He admitted.

“My bodyguard would be happy to help .” Zelda gazed over at her knight, “Isn’t that right,  _ Ravio _ ?”

Link sighed, realizing the heavy lifting wasn’t done yet. “Yes,  _ Hilda _ .”

* * *

“One, two, three … lift!” Link’s muscles tightened as he and the other members of the caravan hoisted the fallen side of the wagon carefully. Once the carriage was lifted, Link let go and rushed over to the detached wheel after patting the man next to him on the back. "Hold it steady." He commanded, prompting tired grunts from all the men left to hold the wagon up. Link began repairs on the wheel, hoping to Hylia that nobody would drop the rickety carriage while he worked under it.

Zelda stood off to the side, overseeing the repairs from a distance. She knew that Link was multifaceted, but a handyman as well? Her knight was certainly a jack of all trades.

“Hey!” Zelda was startled as Gahven called out to her, approaching with a young boy in his arm. The boy was no more than six, and shared most of Gahven’s features except for a large gap in his smile where a baby tooth had once sat.

“Gahven! You found your boy, that’s splendid!” Zelda remarked, her hands clasped in front of her chest.

“Certainly did!” Gahven propped the boy up in his arms as he spoke, “Kiddo was hiding under one of the wagons, just like his papa told him.” He ruffled the child's hair with his hand.

The boy stared at her wide eyes, as if transfixed by her. “Wowwww dad … she’s so pretty! She looks like the princess in all of Mama’s story books.”

Zelda cringed from within as he spoke, preparing for Gahven to finally make the connection. She braced to deal with the commotion she was about to cause before Gahven answered with a laugh. “She sure does, pipsqueak! We’ll have to tell the princess that when we see her at the castle.”

Zelda’s ears perked up at that, her curiosity piqued. “The castle? You’re headed to Hyrule Castle?”

Gahven nodded. “Yes ma’am! We’re from a little village off the beaten path in Lanayru, y’see. Lived there all our lives in fear of the monsters outside. But when we heard that Princess Zelda had returned, and that Calamity Ganon was sealed away, we all realized we didn’t need to hide away anymore. So … we left. Packed up everything we had and set out together.”

Zelda tried her best to hide it, but she was deeply moved. She had done all this? From sealing Calamity Ganon away, she had hoped to bring the scared people of Hyrule out of hiding, but she never imagined it would happen so quickly. “That’s beautiful. I’m so happy to be able to help you keep moving.”

“Well, we appreciate it more than you know, Miss Hilda.” Gahven thanked her, “To think that we’re so close to the Castle … it’s really so-”

“Awwwwww shit!” Gahven turned back to the caravan as one of the men let out a frustrated cry.

It didn’t take long for everyone to gather around and see what the commotion was. At the front of the second wagon in line were two horses. One alive and one dead. The poor horse must have been taken by surprise by one of the Moblins, as its neck had been broken effortlessly.

Gahven sighed, letting his son down, before approaching and leaning down to pet the horse’s body. “Aw, Rascal. You darn nag, I'm sorry.” He stood up slowly, turning back to the farmer who had discovered the body. “Do you think that Chestnut can pull it the rest of the way?”

The man’s lips pulled into a tight line. “Not a chance. None of these wagons are light enough for one horse to pull. We’ll have to lighten the load.”

Gahven clicked his tongue in frustration. They had brought supplies to help with the rebuilding efforts, and he would be damned if they were gonna leave perfectly good food and water on the road for monsters to steal.

“Umm …” Link’s voice cut through the silence, and everyone turned to look at him. “I … may have a solution.”

“You do?” Zelda asked, not sure what he was getting at.

“I-If you do, we are all ears.” Gahven said, giving Link the floor.

Link turned to look down the caravan, spotting his own horse digging through the back of one of the wagons, most likely snacking on the supplies in the back. He wasn’t going to like this … but it was the only way.

* * *

After some serious convincing on his part, Link was able to convince his stubborn steed to don the harness and get rigged up to help pull the load. On the promise of as many carrots as he could eat when he finished the job, of course. Truth did not look happy in his gear, his ears pinned back and tail flicking in annoyance. Link also offered to sit up front with Gahven to drive the cart, worried that his animal might misbehave in the control of a stranger.

Zelda opted to sit in the back of the wagon with the others, on account of her usual means of transportation already being in use. Link had pointed out that the three of them could all fit up front, but Zelda believed that it would do her good to spend time with her people, though they did not discern her identity as of yet. So, for the remainder of the trip, Link would ride in silence with Gahven up front.

The silence was more short-lived than Link had expected however, as Gahven soon piped up. “That’s a mighty fine horse ya have there. Bet he cost a pretty rupee.”

Link hummed, knowing in actuality he plucked his steed right from the wild plains.

A moment passed before Gahven attempted conversation again. "So… is it Link, or Ravio?"

Link clenched his jaw, staring unblinking at the backside of his horse.

"The young miss called you Link back at the stable-"

"Both," Link quickly interrupted. "I go by both. Ravio Link."

"Two names, huh, you must come from a line of fancy folk."

Link didn't know what kind of folk he came from.

“So … what’s the deal with you two?” Gahven asked, leaning forward in his seat to spit.

“Us two?” Link echoed, unsure of what he meant.

“You and the young lady. Are you … y’know?” Gahven rolled his eyes, interlocking his fingers to try to illustrate his question.

Link could almost feel his face burning at such an implication. “N-No! No, nothing like that. I’m … I’m just her uh … hired guard.”

“Oh really?” Gahven cocked his head to the side, an eyebrow raised.

Link nodded, but the silence that hung in the air urged him on, “Her and I have known each other for a while. I uh … worked for her father.”

“Ohhhhh, I see.” The young father sat back, and Link felt like he was being studied in that moment. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, I really don’t mean to be rude. It’s just …

“Something about the way you look at her.”

Link could feel his heart seize in his chest. “Wh-What’s wrong with how I look at her?” He came off more accusatory than he intended. 

Gahven opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly with a chuckle as he waved the topic off. “No, no. I’m sorry, I may just be prying. My ma told me that I get too wrapped up in other's business– that I notice things that I probably shouldn’t.”

“No, please.” Link pushed, not entirely sure why he was pressing such a topic himself. “It’s going to be a long ride and I’m … curious now, honestly.”

Gahven wavered for a moment, wondering if he should proceed, before he ultimately settled on, “Were you ever … in love with her?”

Link could feel all the blood in his body turn to ice. He turned back to look into the covered wagon, spotting Zelda laughing and talking with the others. Love? Did he … love her? 

Link had been cursed upon waking up with a blank mind, having to relearn what it was to be  _ Link _ . The life that he once supposedly shared with Zelda was long gone, but bits and pieces still resurfaced from time to time. Like an echo of a memory, reverberated against the walls of his psyche so many times that he wasn’t sure if it was his own thought or something that the  _ old Link _ had thought. It was the only proof he had that he once existed alongside her 100 years prior.

Link knew the love he had felt before he had fallen in battle, a love he knew was still there. His heart had belonged to Princess Mipha of the Zora, and that did not change. But he also felt an undeniable draw towards the Princess Zelda. When she smiled, his heart warmed like the sun on the desert dunes; when she hurt, his soul wept with her; wherever she went, Link was the first to follow.

And there was also that night. 

In the Spring of Power.

* * *

Link had not told Zelda about the dream he had experienced after losing consciousness in the Spring of Power. He wished he could have, but he didn’t. He didn't think he could, because he wasn't sure if it had actually happened or not. 

In his dream, he was approached by Zelda as he lay bleeding against the stone statue in the middle of the spring. In his delirium, she was bathed in a radiant light. She shone like the Goddess Herself, and Link prostrated himself before her beauty.

He was overcome, his words barely a whisper in her presence, unsure if they were worthy enough to be spoken or not. His mind, clear of everything but her, began to put the pieces together.

“Hey … Zelda, are you okay?” He tried to say, his voice breaking from the exhaustion.

Link could hear Zelda’s voice, but it was muffled. As if she was so far away from him. But her form still stood before him, a gentle and loving smile gazing down at the knight.

A single thought was all that Link could muster. In the face of her beauty, her grace, and her kindness, he was not her knight– he was not her friend either. And at that very second, a phrase bubbled up from somewhere deep within him, in a place he hadn't ever explored, like an underwater volcano lying dormant for years until the imminent eruption finally rose to the surface.

“Zelda … I love you …” He uttered, his voice still barely a whisper.

Zelda’s smile grew, falling to her knees to meet him. They now stood at the same height, seeing each other as pure equals. Link’s eyes closed as her hand cupped his dirty cheek, her warmth soothing his aching flesh.

“Princess, please … I need you …” His words trailed off, unable to form the words for this foreign emotion filling his very soul. And she would answer his plea. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him in close. And when she was within his reach, when they were just inches away from one another, Link closed his eyes …

And kissed her.

When Link looked back on this vivid dream, he originally thought that his actions betrayed his own being. To protect Zelda was to follow her, at a distance of five paces behind. He was never meant to become her closest ally. He was never supposed to become a steadfast and loyal friend to her …

And he was never supposed to fall completely and totally in love with her.

* * *

But here he was. Faced with the undeniable truth of the matter, handed to him by a farmer he’d only met hours ago.

“You … think I love her?” Link asked nervously, his mouth growing dry at the concept.

“Well … yeah.” Gahven insisted, “You just look at her the same way I looked at my wife.”

“Your wife?” Link supposed that made sense. The young man did have a son, but he had seen no trace of this woman in the caravan at all.

“Beah was her name. The finest maiden in all the village– to me, anyway.” Gahven chuckled, but his lips quickly pulled thin, “She uh … passed away a couple years ago. Childbirth was just too much for her.”

“I’m sorry …” Link apologized, kicking himself for not connecting the dots himself.

He laughed at  _ Ravio's _ expense, gazing off down the trail wistfully, as if lost in thought. “Beah was born premature, you see. Her mother and father kept her locked up tight because even the smallest injury or sickness could kill her.” Gahven reached into his pocket, pulling out a carved pipe and a book of matches. He struck one against the hardwood seat before lighting the pipe.

“Thing was … she and I were in love– madly. And she could tell the same as I could. We both had that gift– the one my ma told me about. We could both see the love in each other’s eyes– clear as day– whenever we stole a glance. She told me how she always wanted a child, but her pa forbid it. Said that it would kill her if she even tried.”

Gahven continued. “But we … eloped– despite his warnings. We took a horse and rode all the way to Zora’s Domain. Got married right there, without a single one of our loved ones in attendance.” Gahven barked in laughter, and coughed into his pipe. “That’s honestly what I thought you and your lady were up to.”

Link was baffled. He had taken him as quite the backwoods hick from first impressions, but it seemed that they had stumbled upon quite the romantic.

“Her pa gave me an earful, of course. Told me that I was a dirty trickster who didn’t know what she needed to survive. But, the thing was … little Keet was already brewing. And it was a hard nine months, I’ll tell you. Daily visits to the village doc, daily cocktails of elixirs and medicine, and some days the pain of carrying a child was so much that she laid in bed all day sobbing …”

“Sounds like hell …” Link remarked.

Gahven shook his head once again. “It wasn’t, not for her. Even through the tears she’d keep on smiling, knowing that little Keet was almost here. Three months, two months, one month left … she fought through it all. But when the day came … it turned out her pa was right. She made it through the labour, but the damage was too much. She died holding my hand, telling me to watch over that boy and love him just like I …” For a moment, Gahven’s voice broke, his lips curling inward as a single tear ran down his face. He quickly wiped his face, letting the smoke out of his mouth before finishing, “... like I loved her.”

Link didn’t know what to say. He had no idea that such an upbeat man could have such an unhappy past. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry that happened.”

Gahven glanced back over at him, a soft smile gracing his visage. “Don’t be. Everything that happened to me and Beah was because we loved one another, but I don’t regret it one bit. To share that love, to hold the person dearest to you in your arms and tell them without a shred of doubt that they are the one that you’ve chosen to spend the rest of their life with, even if it’s only for a short time … that made everything worth it. And now I have my boy, and I’m going to give him the exact same courtesy.”

Link couldn’t help but notice the similarities between his story and his own relationship with Zelda. Back before the Calamity, from what he could remember, the idea of a princess and her knight eloping in such a way would be insanity. But Link knew that the wilds of old Hyrule did not hold the same rules as before.

If he were to admit such a thing to Zelda, to confess this newfound love, he would be gambling everything. The future he had prepared for himself as her noble right-hand man would be burned up in an instant if the sentiment was not returned, a friendship spanning over one hundred years gone up in smoke with a single three-word phrase.

But Link could not deny that Zelda had been acting … differently towards him in the past few days. Could it be possible that she …

As the caravan turned the corner, there was a shout from the front wagon, distracting the knight from his internal thoughts. Link furrowed his brow, looking off in the distance before he saw what was causing the commotion.

It was none other than Hyrule Castle.

The shining symbol of Hyrule Kingdom still sat dilapidated and eroded by the sands of time, but with several notable differences. The razed town which surrounded the castle now had several rudimentary buildings and work tents scattered about, and the castle itself was covered in scaffolding to assist with the rebuilding efforts. It was still nowhere near finished, but to see such progress being made on the historical Hyrulean landmark was absolutely stunning.

Link turned back to see Zelda, her head poked out of the side of the wagon. Her eyes were sparkling in the sunlight, a wide and joyful smile plastered across her countenance. She joined in the hoots and hollers with the other passengers, delighted to have finally reached their destination. He rarely saw her so happy, and when he did it only cemented the idea of life with her even greater.

At that moment, Link made a decision. He knew not what he could do on his own, but he knew an attempt needed to be made.

At their next stop … Link would tell her.

He would tell her of his feelings.

* * *

Luckily, there was already a simple rudimentary guard system in place once they reached the outskirts of the castle. The men at the gates swiftly retrieved other members of the rebuilding efforts to assist with unloading the wagons, finally bringing their journey to an end.

Link stood next to the caravan with Zelda and Truth, now freed from the confines of harnesses, who nickered expectantly as he waited for his reward. The animal nudged Link between the shoulder blades with his head, which Link ignored as Gahven approached the travelling pair with a smile. 

“I simply cannot thank you enough,  _ Ravio _ . And you as well, Miss Hilda.”

The two men clasped their hands together in a show of respect. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” Link responded, “This is where we’ll be headed afterwards. Work hard, and we’ll see you soon.”

“I sure will.” Gahven waved them off, walking off to join his group.

“Right, let’s get going.” Link said, turning to his impatient steed, before realizing that they had taken his saddle bag off to hook him up to the cart. “Oh wait, I’m missing my-”

“Mister Ravio!” The shrill voice of a child sounded off behind him. He turned to see Keet, his saddle bag overflowing in his arms as he scrambled to catch him. “Mister, you forgot your s-”

Keet suddenly tripped over his own feet, the bag flying out of his hands and onto the ground at Link’s feet. “S-Sorry, mister! I didn’t mean to-” The boy paused, a dumbstruck look across his face.

The unmistakable handle of the Master Sword jutted out of the top of the bag, its deep blue hilt shining in the overhead sunlight. The boy recognized it instantly from his mother’s books about the Hero’s Legend. If this guy had the Master Sword, he must be …

Keet looked up at him slowly as the man kneeled down to his level. Link scooped up the bag, hiding the sword in it’s burlap covering. Link smirked at the child, slowly bringing a single finger up to his lips.

“Let’s keep this between us, okay kid?”

Keet nodded, transfixed by his stature. Link picked up the bag, strapping it to Truth’s saddle as Zelda pulled herself up into his seat. Keet glanced up at the princess who smiled down at him. If that guy was the hero, then was that …?

“Keet! Get over here and help, son!” Came the stern voice of his father.

“C-Coming!” Keet stammered, jumping to his feet and glancing at the backs of the Hero and Princess of Legend as they rode off before darting off to help his father.

* * *

The sun began to dip behind the mountains as Link and Zelda arrived at the Tabantha Stable. They had just crossed the Hyrule Ridge and were about to reach the coldest parts of West Hyrule. Zelda had mentioned that they could most likely reach Rito Village by nightfall, but Link had insisted that they stop at the stable, arguing that there was something waiting there for them. Zelda knew not what he meant by that, but she trusted his judgement.

Link continued his strange behavior once Truth was stabled, telling Zelda to wait outside for a moment and that there was something he had for her. Zelda agreed with a roll of her eyes. This was so unlike him. He usually wasn’t one for gift-giving, even before his memories were lost.

Zelda stood, leaned up against a nearby tree and as she watched the moon hang high in the sky. It wouldn’t be long now. Rito Village was only a couple hours’ ride away. Soon, they would be able to determine the best candidate for the title of Rito Champion, though she knew that it would be difficult to fill the void left by Revali.

“Hey.” Link’s voice was sweet music to her ears. She turned to face him …

Only to see him leading a new horse with him. It took Zelda a moment to remember, but when she did she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The animal was the spitting image of her own horse from one hundred years ago. If not for the fact it was physically impossible, she would have said it was the same horse entirely. It’s coat was pure white, as pure and untouched as her, with a flowing blonde mane that had been cared for meticulously by the stablehands. And to only support the comparison, the stallion wore decorative tack of the Royal Family, the same that her horse wore all that time ago.

“... L-Link, what is …” Zelda stammered, a bit shell-shocked by the nostalgia of it all.

“Do you like him?” Link asked, reaching up and gently petting the horse’s mane. “I found him up by Sanidin Park. Well, what’s left of it. I spoke with one of the stablehands down there and he said that he’s a direct descendant of the royal stallions of Hyrule. And now … he’s all yours.” He held out the reins for her to take, relishing the look on her face.

“M-Mine? Link, this is …” She could barely believe what she was seeing. She gingerly stepped towards the horse, smiling gently as she took the reins. Zelda reached up and gently patted the horse's coat, its warmth sparking joy within her heart. “He’s so calm …” She turned back to Link, wanting to thank him but not truly knowing how. Instead, she said, “Does he … have a name?”

Link chuckled. “I call him Zenith. And I got him for you, almost half a year ago.” He answered with a scratch to his chin.

“For … me?” Zelda asked as Zenith nuzzled against her hand.

Link nodded. “When I saw it, he uh …" The knight tapped on his temple, "–triggered a memory. Do you remember that day, up at the top of Sanidin Park?”

Zelda nodded. “Yes, I do. It was the day before my birthday.”

“I remembered all of that! Actually, uh …” Link trailed off, a hand reaching up to rub the back of his head. “It seems like any vivid memories I can recall from before the Calamity are …

“Well, they're about you. You’re the only thing anchoring me to that time. Without you, I’d just be … nothing, really. Not even a name.” Link’s eyes met the ground. He never knew this would be so hard.

“Link … what do you mean?” Zelda asked, approaching him slowly. Though they didn’t know it, both of their hearts were pounding as they got closer.

“Zelda …” Link started, her name–not her title– tingling the tip of his tongue. “I just wanted to say that I–”

Link words were cut off by a shrill tone blasting out over the mountain range. Zenith let out a loud neigh in response, and Link and Zelda were forced to cover their ears along with the other patrons of the stable. They recognized the sound instantly.

Vah Medoh.

“That didn’t sound good.” Link remarked, looking off in the direction of the Divine Beast.

Zelda nodded. “You’re right. We should probably hurry to Rito Village.” She suggested, pulling the Sheikah Slate from her side to check the Divine Beast’s status. “There is no way of telling how well Revali is fairing, but that can’t be a good sign.” Zelda, suddenly realizing that she had interrupted Link, looked up from the slate. “Oh, I’m so sorry. You were just about to say something, weren’t you?”

“Oh! Uh … yeah.” Link cleared his throat, steeling himself for what would come. “I …”

Link paused. The cry of Vah Medoh still rang out in his head, a grim reminder of the mission they had worked so hard towards completing. In the face of total annihilation at the hands of the Divine Beasts, Link realized how miniscule his own confession was. He felt as if perhaps this information could be given at any time. What was the harm in waiting until the job was done?

“I … I truly value you. As a princess and as a friend. I just … just wanted you to know that.”

Zelda let out a sigh, her body relaxing instinctually under such a compliment. Instead of words, she stepped in and brought Link into an embrace which the knight gratefully returned. He closed his eyes, letting his head drop, as he let himself enjoy the feeling of holding her close in his arms. He wished he didn't have to let her go.

Tonight would not be the night that Zelda would discover the love that Link held in his heart for her. But the young man knew that he had done the right thing, to complicate such an important task would be irresponsible on his part. They would let go of one another and ride towards Rito Village to investigate. This is what had to be done. 

But truly, in that moment, he wished that he could have tasted her lips once more, just as he had done in his dream.

**Author's Note:**

> Check us out on twitter at @AO3UltC and @Ajayo95 for updates!


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